A company has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an employee was hit and killed by a reversing telehandler at a construction site in Aylesbury.

P J Carey (Contractors) Ltd of Wembley, Middlesex, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 15(2) of the Construction (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1996 at Aylesbury Crown Court. The company was fined £54,000 with costs of £100,000.

Peter Prunic, 53, from Letchworth, Hertfordshire was killed on 25 July 2006, when a telehandler at a construction site in Hemlock Close reversed and struck him. He died from his injuries. He leaves behind a partner with whom he has lived for eight years.

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The court was told of the dangerous working environment in which the pedestrian route to the site was obstructed by rubbish skips, packs of bricks and two parked vans. In addition, pedestrian crossing points were not clearly signed or marked.

At the time of the incident, Mr Prunic was working for a company that was sub-contracted by P J Carey. The responsibility for maintaining an effective Traffic Management Plan, which would have ensured pedestrian areas and vehicle areas were clearly segregated and marked, lay with P J Carey.

HSE Inspector Trevor Tollervey said: "If pedestrian routes had been kept clear and crossing points had been adequately signed or marked, it is likely that Peter Prunic would not have been struck by the telehandler when it reversed and would still be alive today."

(CD/KMcA)