AN engineering company was yesterday fined £200,000 after a North-East man was crushed to death in a works accident.

Joiner Brian Stoker, 53, had worked for the civil engineering company Volker Stevin, formerly Harbour and General, when the accident happened in Blyth, Northumberland, last year.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how Mr Stoker was lifting and moving timber as part of a refurbishment contract in the town in March.

Andrew Finlay, prosecuting, told the court how Mr Stoker, from Sunderland, arranged two planks on a 60-tonne mobile crane, to be lifted on to the ground.

Unsupervised and inexperienced, Mr Stoker, from Silksworth, signalled for the lift to take place after securing a strap at each end of the planks.

Mr Finlay said that as the planks were raised, the straps slid into the middle of the timber, causing them to fall.

Judge David Wood was shown photographs of the acident, on the Quayside at Blyth, on March 11 last year.

The court heard how the company, based in Gateshead, was a major contractor in the engineering sector and should have been well-equipped for the lift.

As a result of the accident, the company, which employs about 350 workers, has trained a further 32 people to supervise such lifts.

David Rowlands, in mitigation, said the accident was a one-off.

The company was fined £200,000 and £4,000 costs after it pleaded guilty to four charges of failing to ensure safety at work and the appropriate supervision of lifting operations.