THE wife of a man left paralysed after an accident has criticised the £3,500 fine imposed on his employers.

Karen Dodds, whose husband, Michael, 24, almost lost his life when he fell, avoiding falling glass, said: "Nothing can describe what we have been through.We had married just under a year and had plans for the future. All that has had to change.

"We are disappointed with the outcome. We were expecting the fine to be much higher. A couple of weeks ago a firm was fined £4,000 when a worker lost a finger."

Mother-of-two Mrs Dodds, from Dipton, near Stanley, County Durham, was speaking after Romag Limited, which makes laminated glass for the security industry, was convicted by North Durham magistrates of failing to ensure the safety of an employee at its premises on Leadgate Industrial Estate, near Consett, County Durham, on April 30, last year.

The firm, which admitted the charge, was fined £3,500 for breach of safety regulations and ordered to pay £1,775 costs.

Emma Scott, prosecuting, said Mr Dodds was trying to carry 24 sheets of glass on a trolley. But the sheets fell off and he fell badly, breaking the third and fourth vertebrae of his spine, which left him paralysed from the waist down.

Simon Antrobus, counsel for Romag, said the company, which had no previous convictions, had regularly issued guidelines to staff and produced memos sent to staff reminding them of regulations.

The Dodds family, who say Mr Dodds should have been supervised as a probationary, are pursuing a claim for damages.