A CONTRACTOR and a well-known building company have been fined over health and safety breaches after a worker was paralysed in an accident on a Hampshire building site.

Robert Blackmore, who runs RB Contractors, was fined £5,000 plus £1,000 costs and Rokbuild Ltd was fined £175,000 plus £26,733 costs. Rokbuild was running the project at Sir John Moore Barracks, in Winchester, when the accident happened in March 2004.

Winchester Crown Court heard the charges, which both Mr Blackmore, of Uplands Road, Weeke, and Rokbuild admitted, centred on an accident involving Christopher Feeley, then aged 22, who was working as a labourer for RB Contractors. Mr Feeley was paralysed from the waist down in an accident whilst driving a dumper for which he was not qualified to drive.

At a trial earlier this year, Mr Blackmore, Marc Shrubshole and Santana Rodrigues - both employees of Rokbuild Ltd - were acquitted of conspiring to pervert the course of justice over the accident. It was alleged that they had created a fictional paper trail to make it look as though health and safety provisions had been in place.

Prosecuting, Nigel Lickley QC said Mr Feeley had not been given a proper site safety induction and had no training in the use of plant machinery.

Mr Lickley said Rokbuild had failed to vet RB Contractors and did not properly train Mr Rodrigues and Mr Shrubshole to manage the site - they had started, but not finished, a five-day safety course.

He said: "Rokbuild fell significantly below the standard expected of a large national firm which employs many people."

Mr Lickley said that Blackmore had a "cavalier" attitude to safety and failed to carry out risk assessments and complete method statements.

Mitigating for Blackmore, Nick Tucker conceded that his client was "woefully ignorant" of his obligations.

Mr Tucker said RB Contractors' subsequent work had been very limited.

Mitigating for Rokbuild, John Cooper said the company dedicated significant resources to safety.