A COMPANY has been fined £5,000 after one of its employees broke several bones when he fell from a forklift truck while inside a cage.

Fabricator Daniel Kinlan was injured in an accident at the factory of Cellecta Ltd, Burnt Ash Road, Quarry Wood Industrial Estate, Aylesford, on September 23, 2003.

The former chef was trying to unblock a duct used for filtering the dust-filled air in the factory, Maidstone magistrates heard.

He climbed inside a metal cage, which was lifted four metres above the ground by a forklift truck. But as Mr Kinlan moved to the left, the cage tilted and crashed to the ground. He suffered two broken wrists, a fractured elbow, a cut above his right eyebrow and a bruised leg.

Health and Safety Inspector Jan Combs, prosecuting, told the court hearing that Mr Kinlan had been working for the company for one month and had not been instructed about the health and safety risks of working at height.

She said: "Cellecta Ltd completely failed to assess the risks of working at height. There was nothing to stop the cage from tilting."

Alisdair Williamson, defending, said it had been an isolated incident, that the cage had not been meant to be used in this way and that the system would not have needed to be checked manually if it had been properly operated during a manager's absence.

He said: "We've done everything we can subsequent to this to ensure that our procedures are foolproof. This isn't a company that was reckless and wasn't heeding matters of health and safety. Mr Kinlan's injuries are bitterly regretted by the company."

The company, which manufactures insulation products, was represented in court by its managing director Andrew Fry and financial director Mark Reece.

They pleaded guilty to failing to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the safety of their employees while working at height, under Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Magistrates also ordered the company to pay £823.08 in legal costs.