LANCASHIRE County Council could face prosecution over the death of a forestry worker who was crushed by a dumper truck on what an inquest heard was a "dangerous", "unsuitable" and "very steep" access road.

The Health and Safety Executive is still investigating the accident in which 43-year-old John Arrowsmith died and said it could be another four weeks before they decide if charges are to be put to his employers Lancashire County Engineering Services, a subsidiary of LCC.

Mr Arrowsmith, of Hutton, and his colleague Andrew Jenkinson were constructing a forest access road off Halifax Road near Thursden picnic site, Burnley.

The route, which would also double as a bridleway, was being constructed as part of the Forest of Burnley Millennium project.

They had been working on site for about four weeks ferrying stones in dumper trucks down the hill to make the new path when the accident happened on February 12 this year.

A jury inquest in Burnley was told by Mr Jenkinson that a short time before the fatal accident, another forestry worker, Peter Balshaw, had been driving his dumper on the same stretch of access road when it "ran away on him" but he was not injured.

Mr Jenkinson admitted there was no plan of the road, no map, no survey and no specifications , it was all by word of mouth. The jury returned a verdict of misadventure and asked East Lancashire coroner David Smith to make recommendations to LCC that future jobs should have more comprehensive planning, surveying and documentation, especially in relation to the selection of vehicles.

A design engineer for the dumper truck manufacturers said the truck should not have been used on a gradient steeper than a 1:4.

"If it is too steep it will affect the handling of the dumper and with the load on the front and the very steep gradient if you braked hard you might tip over." Accident investigator PC John Sutcliffe said: "The gradient was far too steep for use of a vehicle of that type. I would have said a vehicle with at least caterpillar tracks would be better but it is still too steep."

Sgt Eric Marshall said the site was not at all suitable for an access road or for horses." Pathologist Dr William Lawler said Mr Arrowsmith died from multiple injuries consistent with him being "squashed."

His wife Lynn Maria Arrowsmith said her husband had spoken of his concerns that the road was too steep for the job they were doing.

She said: "He was trying to get somebody to come and have a look at it."

The coroner added: "He was driving a dumper which was an unsuitable vehicle for the job in hand on a very dangerous slope. If there had been a roll bar fitted it would not have prevented the accident but it might will have saved his life especially if he had been wearing a seat belt and a hard hat.

"It all goes to show the slack way the job was being operated."

LCC declined to call any witnesses at the hearing and refused to comment on the situation today.

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