THREE workers were laid up for months after being badly burned in accidents at a North Yorkshire power station, a court heard.

The three needed skin grafts, and a further three workers were also scalded when walls of hot ash burst upon them at Drax Power Station.

At least one of the six was so badly affected by his experience that he needed post-traumatic stress counselling.

AES Drax, which runs Drax Power Station, was fined £15,000 with £5,129.20 costs over the two incidents involved.

A cleaning firm at the complex, Interserve Industrial Services Ltd, of Dartford, was also fined £3,000 with costs of £4,158.

Both pleaded guilty to failing to provide a safe system of work for the injured employees.

Alun Williams, prosecuting for the Health and Safety Executive, told York magistrates that, twice within a few hours, hot pulverised ash suddenly blotted out all light inside a huge duct where the men were cleaning out accumulated dust on May 6, 2002.

Two employees of the cleaning firm, Dave Ramsgill and Andy Hepworth, were injured in the first incident, as were Drax employees David Streets and Mick Maloney

On the second occasion Drax employee John Welch, wrongly fearing that his colleague, Alan Tune, was in trouble, waded back through knee-high scalding dust to try and save him.

Both men spent months off work, as did Mick Maloney after the first accident.

Lawyers for the companies revealed that both had received awards for their safety procedures, and that the men were experienced, responsible employees.

For AES Drax, Neil Cameron said that since the accident it had put doors into the duct so it could be cleaned without men needing to go inside it.

For Interserve, David Lewis said it had received national recognition for its health and safety training.

Outside court, factory inspector Howard Whittaker warned companies: "Just because you have fairly comprehensive systems, you cannot assume that accidents won't happen."

Updated: 11:08 Friday, July 11, 2003