Three companies have been fined more than £2million between them in Lincoln Crown Court after a worker’s leg was broken in six places when a trench collapsed on him.

After the incident, John Henry & Sons (Civil Engineers) Ltd, backdated a method statement to give the impression that it had been signed by the workers prior to the trench collapsing.

Vincent Talbot, 47, from Lincoln, suffered the serious leg injuries. His leg was crushed in the incident at Fleet Street, Holbeach, Lincolnshire, on 9 March 2012.

He was trapped in the trench for 15 minutes before being extracted by the fire and rescue service and then airlifted to hospital.

His right ankle has been left permanently damaged, pointing 10 degrees off line. He was off work for more than a year and vows never to work in a trench again.

An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found insufficient measures had been taken to protect those working in the trench and a series of safety errors had led to the collapse.

The court heard how principal contractor Kier MG Ltd had been appointed by Lincolnshire County Council to install new storm drains. It sub-contracted the installation work to John Henry & Sons (Civil Engineers) Ltd, who in turn sub-contracted it to Lawless Civils Ltd. Vincent Talbot was a self-employed contractor hired by Lawless Civils.

John Henry & Sons failed to inform Kier MG of the appointment of Lawless Civils. Lawless were approved contractors of Kier MG but not for this type of specialist excavation work. Lawless appointed a supervisor who had never supervised work and did not have the relevant training and qualifications to do so.

A 3m long trench box was used to shield workers in the trench but the pipes being laid were 6m long, leaving workers unprotected over some of the length of the pipe.

No other trench support systems were used and the unsupported trench had water leaking into it. Concrete was being used to bed the pipes in at the bottom of the trench instead of pea gravel as specified by the client. Before the collapse, the trench had been left open overnight. Water mixed with the concrete, making the pipe levelling process extremely difficult as the level of the pipe bed had to be continuously adjusted.

When Vince Talbot was attempting to level a pipe section for a second time, the sides of the trench collapsed and trapped him.

Kier MG Ltd (formerly known as May Gurney Ltd) of Tempsford Hall, Sandy, Bedfordshire, pleaded guilty when it appeared before the court on 19 December to breaching Regulation 22(1)(a) of the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 2007. It was fined £1.5million and ordered to pay £23,327.83 costs.

John Henry & Sons (Civil Engineers) Ltd of Barnwell Road, Cambridge, denied the charge but was found guilty of breaching section 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined £550,000 and ordered to pay £166,217.86 costs.

Lawless Civils Ltd of Doddington Road, Lincoln, pleaded guilty to breaching section 3(1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. It was fined £40,500 and ordered to pay £53,346.59.

HSE inspector Martin Waring said afterwards: “This incident was foreseeable and avoidable and Mr Talbot’s injuries were the result of multiple failings by the duty holders, from the planning stage through to the execution of the project, resulting in the inevitable collapse of an unsupported trench. Sufficient trench support systems were not provided.

“Even while the excavation phase had begun, a catalogue of errors and omissions led to the injuries of Vincent Talbot. It is inevitable that at some time an unsupported trench will collapse. For this reason, safe systems of work should be in place in order to protect persons who work in trenches. We could easily have been dealing with a fatal incident.”

Click here for information on the HSE website for planning and safely undertaking excavation work.