A LABOURER who has suffered years of agonising back pain after falling off a ladder at work has received a six-figure payout for his injuries.

Robert Cowley, 47, from Billingham, Teesside, said he has been on painkillers for the past six years following the fall at a construction site in northern France.

Mr Cowley was climbing down the ladder when it slipped from scaffolding and he fell.

The former hod-carrier sued his employers, Bedford-based contractors Irvine Whitlocks, after it emerged that other workers at the site, in Valenciennes, had previously raised concerns about the ladders.

Mr Cowley refused to disclose the exact amount he had been paid by Irvine Whitlock, but the construction firm offered the Billingham man £125,000 in compensation in January and a final settlement was agreed last month, days before the case was scheduled to reach court.

He said: "The money will of course make a difference by making my life more secure, but it's not going to fix my back or give me back the past six years."

Mr Cowley was diagnosed as suffering from severe depression and post traumatic stress disorder following the accident. He also lost about 6st.

Solicitor Mark Lee, of Newcastle firm Irwin Mitchell, which acted on behalf of Mr Cowley, said: "We realised it was unlikely Robert would ever be able to return to work as a consequence of his injuries and this could evidently have caused him considerable financial hardship."

Irvine Whitlock commercial director Paul Dewick said the decision to settle out of court had been reached by the Bedford-based firm's insurers.

In response to claims that the site was unsafe, Mr Dewick added: "It was a long time ago now, but I was actually working on that site and, as far as I'm concerned, that was one of the safest sites I've been on."