A PLANT hire firm has been fined following an accident in which a JCB operator crashed 120ft down a quarry face.

Paul Ripley miraculously escaped serious injury following the accident in October last year at Cold Knuckles Quarry, Quarrington Hill, County Durham.

The 31-year-old, from Willington, near Bishop Auckland, had been working on the quarry edge when the land beneath the excavator gave way causing him and the machine to fall 40 metres to the bottom.

The accident caused in excess of £30,000 worth of damage to the JCB, but Mr Ripley managed to crawl free from the battered machine with minor cuts and bruises.

Yesterday, Bishop Auckland Magistrates heard how the owner of the JCB, J Kemp Limited, should have carried out a geometric survey on the ground to make sure it was able to take the weight of the 35 tonne excavator.

The company should also have made sure that Mr Ripley had the relevant qualifications to work in a quarry.

Dr David Shallow, prosecuting the company on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive, said Mr Ripley had been extremely fortunate.

He said: "The JCB was crushed from the impact when it hit the bottom of the quarry, and he Mr Ripley managed to crawl out with minor injuries from what was effectively a 40 metre fall."

Defence barrister Kaiser Nazir, on behalf of company director John Robert Kemp, said that the company had been operating for 30 years and this was the first time it had faced charges of this nature.

He said that Mr Kemp, from Rose Street, Trimdon Grange, effectively hired out equipment and drivers to companies who were carrying out work.

He said Mr Kemp had thought the onus for health and safety was on the owners of the land who carried out the work.

He said: "He did not realise that there was any danger and he himself had even worked on the excavator."

Mr Kemp, who pleaded guilty to failing to ensure the safety of Mr Ripley, was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £1,136 costs.