A construction firm has been fined £150,000 after workmen ruptured a pipeline and caused a major gas leak in Tannochside.
The labourers ran for their lives following the accident at Newlands Farm.
Hamilton Sheriff Court heard that 271 tonnes of natural gas was released into the air, but, fortunately, there was no explosion and no one was injured.
John Murphy and Sons Limited, a global firm based in London, admitted a breach of safety regulations.
Jennifer McLaren, prosecuting, said workers using a mechanical digger had gone too close to the pipeline.
The incident happened in a field near the M74 in January 2014.
The pipeline was being diverted and the firm was doing the work on behalf of Scottish Gas Networks.
Ms McLarren said the company’s own manual stressed that a mechanical excavator should not go closer than 60cm to a pipeline.
At this point all digging should be done by hand.
However, the digger was still being operated and its bucket struck and fractured the pipe.
Four workers were present at the time.
Ms McLaren told the court: “A loud hissing sound was heard and soil was blown away.
“Valves were switched off and the workers ran for safety.
“However, the gas dissipated over time without incident.
“Consideration was given to closing the nearby motorway, but in the end this was not thought necessary.”
John Murphy and Sons, a family-run company with no previous convictions for safety breaches, has an annual turnover of £780 million.
Its lawyer said the company had “left no stone unturned” in trying to establish what had gone wrong.
He told the court: “Safety is at the heart of everything the company does.
“In this case it got it wrong. It has done everything to ensure it won’t happen again.”
Sheriff Douglas Brown said he considered the company’s culpability to be “medium”. He had to take into account its substantial turnover when passing sentence.
The £150,000 fine was reduced from £190,000 because of its guilty plea.
