An incident in which a man was crushed and suffered serious injuries in an accident at work has resulted in a prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

The unnamed 17-year-old man was working for Peter David Marquis at a waste transfer station in 2007 when an excavator moved back, pushing him into a skip.

He broke his femur and pelvis and suffered serious internal injuries.

Mr Marquis was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £4,631.60 in costs for breaches of health and safety acts.

HSE inspector Stephen Garsed said the accident happened because the risks of working near machinery had not been assessed.

"It is now so easy to find that there can be no excuse for not knowing the standards to meet or for not making sure that risk assessments and operating procedures follow best practice," he commented.

All employers are obliged by law to ensure the safety of their employees under a duty of care.

They must provide a safe workplace, safe systems of work, safe equipment and safe fellow employees.

If any safety regulations are breached and an injury occurs as a result of this negligence, the victim may be eligible for compensation. The HSE will prosecute where appropriate employers that break the law.