Waste firm Sita UK has been fined £200k for safety failings after an employee was run over by a reversing telehandler.

The employee set out to pass behind the 7.5-tonne telehandler when it was stationary but it began to reverse as he got to it. He was knocked to the ground and then run over by the rear wheel of the vehicle. His injuries caused him to be hospitalised for two months.

Preston Crown Court heard that Sita UK had failed to provide adequate segregation between pedestrians and moving vehicles at its waste transfer station in Darwen, Lancashire.

Sita UK Limited of Grenfell Road, Maidenhead, Berkshire, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £200,000 with £11,998 costs.

Health & Safety Executive inspector Stuart Kitchingman said after the hearing: “Employers need to look carefully at their workplaces regularly to make sure that pedestrian routes are clearly marked and physically separated from vehicle routes wherever possible.

“The employee could have easily been killed and still has severe mobility problems as a result of the accident. He is unlikely to be able to work in the near future.”