A man who fell 14 feet off a ladder has secured compensation after he was forced to retire.

Jeffery Phillips, 59, had worked at Gunstones Bakery in Dronfield for 11 years when he was asked to clean the top of a divider machine in preparation for a customer visit in 2006, the Sheffield Telegraph reports.

However, the ladder he was using to reach the top of the machine slipped and Mr Phillips fell to the floor, breaking his hip, fracturing his elbow and hurting his hand.

He needed a hip replacement and was forced to give up work.

Mr Phillips took legal action against Gunstones Bakery, which admitted liability and agreed to an out-of-court settlement of £80,000.

"I decided to pursue compensation because I wanted the company to take full responsibility for the accident," the victim said.

He added that he had never received training in the use of ladders and would not want a similar fate to happen to anyone else for the same reason.

According to the Health and Safety Executive, ladders accounted for the greatest number of major injuries to employees due to both high falls (40 per cent) and low falls (28 per cent) in 2007-08.