A SPECIALIST glass company has denied a charge brought following a factory accident in which an employee was left paralysed from the neck down.

Romag Limited, a security laminator manufacturer at Leadgate, near Consett, County Durham, is to stand trial on an allegation that it failed to ensure the safety of an employee.

The charge arises out of an accident at the premises, on the Leadgate Industrial Estate, last April, in which 24-year-old production worker Michael Dodds was attempting to move pallets of glass sheets.

It is said that the pallets fell in his direction and in trying to evade them he tripped and fell, breaking two bones in his neck, leaving him completely paralysed from the neck downwards.

The case, brought by the Health and Safety Executive, came before Durham magistrates yesterday, when Simon Antrobus, solicitor for Romag, said the company would contest the case.

Proceedings were adjourned by the magistrates for a trial later in the year. A pre-trial review of the case will be staged at Durham Magistrates' Court on March 24.