A SKIP hire firm and its owner have been ordered to pay £80,000 after a 21-year-old worker was crushed to death.

Amin Qabil, who was originally from Afghanistan, was using a vehicle called a skid steer loader to move rubbish when the incident happened at Blackburn Skip Hire Ltd on August 21, 2010.

Mr Qabil’s body was discovered just after midnight after the owner of a neighbouring business noticed the gates to the site were still open. He had suffered massive rear head injuries.

Health and Safety Executive prosecuted the company and its owner, Zarif Mohammed, after the vehicle was found to be unsafe and that Mr Qabil had not received any formal training.

Preston Crown Court heard yesterday the firm had failed to ensure the vehicle’s safety features were working correctly when it used it at its warehouse on the Kensulate Park industrial estate. The restraint bar had been disabled, which allowed controls to be operated when no one was sitting in the cab. The minimum engine speed had also been increased, and a fault meant it could reverse unexpectedly.

The HSE said the most likely explanation for his death is that he caught a lever as he climbed out of the cab and was crushed against the vehicle when the bucket on the front was raised.

Blackburn Skip Hire Ltd, of Lower Hollin Bank Street in Blackburn, was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay £19,000 in prosecution costs. Zarif Mohammed, 36, of Leamington Road, Blackburn, was ordered to carry out 160 hours of unpaid community work in the next 12 months and to pay costs of £1,000.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Inspector Matt Greenly said: “Amin Qabil’s life was brought to an end after he suffered horrific injuries caused by a vehicle that should never have been in use.”