Agricultural manufacturing company Charles J Marshall has been fined £6,000 after a worker was seriously injured by a forklift truck.

Jose Magano Ojeda, 44, was working his first day for the company welding metal runners to the steel sheet bed of a trailer on 31 March 2014.

Another employee was using the forks on the forklift truck to apply downward pressure to the metal runner, holding it flat in place for welding.

While Mr Magano Ojedo was welding, the fork lifted up and disengaged from the truck, striking and severely injuring him.

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He sustained injuries including a broken hip which required an operation to fit a metal plate.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the forklift was being used for a purpose it was not designed nor intended for, while safety measures designed to keep the fork in place were missing.

Charles J Marshall pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(3) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment regulations 1998.

HSE Principal Inspector Niall Miller, said: "It is inherently unsafe to use equipment for purposes other than that it is designed and intended for.

"The failure of the company to find a safe way to apply pressure to metal bars for welding led to ad hoc and unsafe practices, and has in this case resulted in a worker being seriously injured."

(LM)