A YORK man responsible for safety at a restaurant where a teenage worker died after being electrocuted has been fined £3,000.

Charles Ian Helmrich, of Elmfield Avenue, Heworth, had denied breaching his duty to take reasonable care under the Health And Safety At Work Act.

But District Judge John Friel found Helmrich guilty and said health and safety at the restaurant was "barely adequate".

Lincoln Magistrates Court heard that Mark Thorne recieved an electric shock as he moved a plate warming machine while mopping up Fatty Arbuckle's, in Lincoln, where Helmrich was a company executive.

The 17-year-old, of Nightingale Crescent, Lincoln, died from injuries suffered in the 1998 incident.

A jury inquest later found he had been unlawfully killed.

Other workers at the restaurant told the hearing they had got shocks from the same machine that killed Mr Thorne.

Waiter Matthew Clarke said: "It was like a pin-prick when you touched the plate warmer and another metal surface."

Mr Clarke said he had complained to managers about the incident but was not aware of any action being taken.

Staff often had to move the machine to mop up and one on occasion he had changed the plug because it was cracked, Mr Clarke said.

Judge Friel said that Helmrich, 49, had not been prosecuted for Mr Thorne's death.

But he said he should have implemented a system of risk-assessments and told his employers of their legal obligations.

Helmrich declined to comment when the Evening Press called at his home.

But his solicitor Kevin Lachlan said: "No decision has been made yet on whether to appeal against this conviction. The implications on anyone responsible for health and safety in any organisation are profound."

Helmrich was also ordered to pay £3,000 costs after yesterday's hearing.

Updated: 10:51 Saturday, March 29, 2003