Hampshire firm Solent Waste Services has been fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £19,752 in costs after a worker was run over by a reversing digger at its yard in Eastleigh.

Martin Jewell, 49, from Gosport, sustained ‘life-changing’ injuries, including a double fracture to his right shin bone and broken bones in both feet, in the incident at the firm’s premises on October 30 2012.

The company was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) on March 24 2014 at Westminster Magistrates’ Court after hearing that skip driver Mr Jewell walked to a storage unit and asked a digger driver to pull out another skip to fill before turning to make his way to a nearby office.

However, as he walked away the digger reversed into him, knocking him over and crushing his legs.

HSE found there was nothing in place at the yard to ensure vehicles and workers were kept apart, such as designated walkways or zones. The court was told that pedestrians routinely walked and stood in areas where vehicles were circulating.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Zahir Agha said: “Solent Waste Services could and should have done more, and as a result Mr Jewell has been left with debilitating injuries from which he may never fully recover.”