The half a tonne load of sound bloc boards were being lifted from the fourth floor at the rear of a block of flats under construction in Poole to the second lift loading bay at the front of the building.

Bournemouth Magistrates’ Court heard how on 6 May 2014, that as the load of 15 boards descended into the loading bay it snagged on a scaffolding standard causing them to slip out of two retaining slings.

The worker at the site in Branksome was struck by a number of the boards as he stood on the loading bay.

He was knocked unconscious and suffered a broken leg and fractured ribs.

Balfour Beatty Regional Construction was fined a total of £22,000, and ordered to pay £16,089 in costs after pleading guilty to offences under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998.