THE mother of a man killed in a works accident today told how he had tried to start a new life after being out of work for nearly two years.

Susan Kendall, of Gordon Street, Colne, spoke after Steven Barnes, the director of the company where her son Ian Ward worked, was ordered to pay nearly £30,000 in fines at Reedley Magistrates' Court yesterday.

Health and safety officials launched an investigation into the death of Ian, 33, after he fell from a metal table at Norpol Recycling, Charles Street, Nelson.

Ian, of Turner Street, Barnoldswick, suffered a blood clot on his brain and died in Royal Preston Hospital on December 6, 2001.

The Health and Safety Executive and police investigated to establish how he fell 1.7 metres from a working platform on to a concrete floor at the plastics recycling plant.

Susan said Ian, who had two daughters Isobel, two, and Kili, 12, had taken the job just four weeks before the accident.

She said: "He had been on JobSeekers Allowance for about two years and thought he was ready to make a go of his life.

"His partner, Sarah didn't like him working there because they lived in Barnoldswick and he had to start at 7am and didn't finish until seven at night.

"But Ian was determined and said he was going to stick it out even if it killed him. It was an unfortunate expression but we can't help but think if he had not have taken that job he would still be here."

Elizabeth Evans, a HSE health and safety inspector told the court: "He was seen by a witness stepping on to the metal table from the steps and was trying to empty the bin to feed plastic into a machine when he fell.

"He tried to grab the steps but fell 1.7 metres on to a concrete floor. "

The inspector said Ian had learnt this procedure from a senior member of staff who is now no longer working for the company. The court was told the company had reviewed its safety procedures before the accident.

Matthew Smith, Norpol's defence solicitor, said: "Nothing is going to be said about the man who died because no words about the death could be adequate. This is not any disregard of the consequences of what happened.

"The company has taken steps to remedy its deficiencies. On the day of the accident the machine was isolated and taken out of action."

To prevent any further accidents the company has ensured that employees use a cage attached to a fork lift truck if they ever need to reach the machine.

Susan added: "It has been a long and hard 18 months for all of us. We had to wait 13 months for the inquest so we didn't want this to drag on any longer than it had to.

"It could have gone to Crown Court but we didn't really want that. We didn't want revenge we just wanted to draw a close to the whole nightmare. Steve Barnes helped things by not trying to worm his way out of what had happened. Even his solicitor didn't try to defend what had happened and we respect that.

"We just hope this sends a message out to other companies whose health and safety procedures are not up to scratch and that it will prevent anybody else from being injured."