A WORKMAN is critically-ill in hospital after being crushed by machinery on a building site.

The 22-year-old was left fighting for his life after an accident with an excavator on the site of a new Waitrose superstore on Foss Islands Road in York.

He was trapped behind the digger and a gate at the entrance to the site early on Tuesday morning and was rushed to the city’s hospital.

And yesterday the man, who has yet to be named, was still intensive care and his condition was described as critical.

The Health and Safety Executive, alongside the police, has launched a formal investigation into the incident.

The injured man, believed to be from West Yorkshire, works for Leeds-based Howard Civil Engineering, a sub-contractor for Wates Construction which is building the new store.

A Wates spokesperson said the accident had happened at about 8.50am and the man was immediately taken to hospital.

The new Waitrose is being built on the site of the former MFI store on Foss Islands Road. It is expected to open on October 28 and create 180 jobs.