THE family of a worker who drowned in paint at a car factory are taking legal action against the Blackburn man who was in charge of safety.

They are filing a civil action against Peter Preston, 51, of Rowen Park, his colleague Paul McKenzie and car giant Ford, which owned the Southampton factory where 30-year-old Christopher Shute was in August 2000.

Christopher was working for Philip Services (Europe) Ltd, for which Preston and McKenzie were managers.

The pair and Ford have admitted negligence on health and safety grounds which led to Mr Shute's death and sentencing at Winchester Crown Court will resume today.

The family broke the news of the civil action after hearing the harrowing details of how technical troubleshooter Mr Shute died after falling into a tank, used for paint recycling, at the Swaythling transit van factory.

The court heard how it had been impossible for Mr Shute to escape from the vat of paint because the inside was too slippery for him to grip.

His sister Anne Gundry, 35, said: "We want justice for Christopher. It did not go to a full trial so this is the only road we can take. We feel that there are still a lot of unanswered questions."

Both Preston and McKenzie had denied charges of manslaughter, which were later dropped after under agreement of the Crown Prosecution Service.

The pair, through their counsel, expressed their deep regret that the incident had led to such a tragedy.

Prosecutor Anthony Leonard QC described how on the morning of August 17, Mr Shute had been called to inspect the tank because of over-foaming problems which were causing the paint to spill up through open lids.

A colleague saw Mr Shute get off a ladder and go on top of the tank.

Mr Leonard said: "He saw Christopher Shute go to the centre of the tank. He then took one or two steps and disappeared into the tank.

"It appears beyond doubt that he fell through an open lid. The absence of the lid would not have been apparent as the foam was covering it up."

At Thursday's court hearing, Mr Jonathan Laidlaw, representing Ford, issued a public apology on behalf of the company.