A WORKER was crushed by machinery when he accidentally knocked the controls to a mechanical crane, an inquest heard.

Father-of-two Stewart Hornsby, 51, was working at a council recycling plant in March last year when he died from chest injuries.

Yesterday, an inquest into his death heard how Mr Hornsby, from The Crescent, in Easington, County Dur-ham, was believed to have leant over the controls of a crane, which came crashing down on top of him.

The hearing, in Hartlepool, was told that because of the position of his body - leaning forward on the controls - the crane's arm could not be raised and he was trapped.

Firefighters were called to Hartlepool Borough Council's recycling depot, in Burn Road, on March 24, last year, and released Mr Hornsby. But he died at the University Hospital of Hartlepool.

During the inquest, fellow worker David Cutter described to the jury the moment his colleague became trapped.

He told the court how they had been working together for about four weeks and were contracted by A&E Thompson to shred twigs and branches at the site.

Mr Cutter was using a JCB to lift in loads of twigs, and Mr Hornsby stood on a platform overlooking the work.

Mr Cutter said: "Another vehicle came into the site, so I reversed away to let him drop his waste."

He said he looked towards the shredder and noticed the vehicle's arm was down.

"I realised something was wrong and saw Stu was trapped," he said. "He was caught between the lifting arm and the controls and I realised he could not get out.

"He was on the levers so I could not get access to them. He was in a bad way."

An investigation was launched by the Health and Safety Executive, which made recommendations on the future use of the machine.

A guard has now been fitted to the machinery to prevent a similar accident.

The jury returned a verdict of accidental death, and Coroner Malcolm Donnelly comforted Mr Hornsby's wife, who was too upset to speak after the hearing.