A TIMBER firm has been fined after a man was dragged into working machinery while climbing over it to replace a part.

Employees of F W Mason and Sons Ltd regularly climbed over the working machinery in order to refit belts which had slipped, Nottingham Magistrates' Court heard.

But the practice was only stopped following the accident involving Paul Huckle, whose trouser leg caught on a rotating gear, pulling him into the machinery.

The muscles, tendons and bone of Mr Huckle's left lower leg were damaged, requiring surgery, and he was not able to work for 11 weeks.

District Judge John Stobart said: "We can feel nothing but sympathy for him.

"It appears that the machine we are dealing with here had a tendency to lose belts and the practice had grown up of these belts being replaced, or refitted, while the machine was still active."

The family-owned firm on Colwick Industrial Estate was founded in 1929 and describes itself as the leading supplier of finished timber products to the DIY trade.

Timber is sawn at the premises, but the machine which Mr Huckle was caught in on June 27, 2007, was a conveyor used for moving the material around the factory.

The firm pleaded guilty to contravening a health and safety regulation and was fined £4,000 plus costs of £2,497.