A firm was fined £20,000 for safety breaches leading to the death of a worker.
Paul Greenwood, 51, was crushed to death when he fell into a moving conveyor belt at a factory in Cramlington, Northumberland, in October 2001.
A jury at Newcastle Crown Court found factory owners Cova Products guilty of two safety breaches following a prosecution brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).
An HSE spokeswoman said today that Cova Products was fined £20,000 and ordered to pay costs of £5,603.
Mr Greenwood was an employee of Rochdale-based contractors Carter Bros called in to repair machinery which had broken down a few days earlier.
The court heard that he plunged through a gap in a platform above the conveyor belt and was crushed to death.
The Health and Safety Executive said the conveyor belt should have been switched off while work was being carried out.
The jury found Carter Bros not guilty on a single charge. The firm has gone into liquidation and was not represented in court. .
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