A FIRM fined £8,000 after a worker fell from scaffolding says it has improved health and safety since the accident.

Barry Derbyshire, aged 61, broke his back after falling more than two metres while carrying out maintenance on a machine used to make exhaust pipes at Klarius UK Ltd's Cheadle plant.

But the firm has now replaced the scaffold tower he fell from, and now gives extra training to its staff.

The company, based at Brookhouses Industrial Estate, admitted breaching health and safety regulations for working at height, at Newcastle Magistrates Court.

Klarius had appointed a new health and safety officer and launched a review of its existing system just weeks before Mr Derbyshire's fall.

Charles Greaves, UK operations director for Klarius, said: "We sincerely regret the fact that the fall happened, and on a personal level have done everything we can to ensure Mr Derbyshire has been provided with the very best care and support during his recuperation.

"We informed the Health and Safety Executive immediately after the accident happened and have made sure our insurers have made available a substantial fund for compensation and any ongoing care requirements.

"We were pleased to learn that after several weeks Mr Derbyshire was back on his feet and wish him the very best for the future."

Mr Derbyshire, of Cheadle, has not returned to work.

John Bennett, a Unite union shop steward and a senior welder who was nearest the accident on August 18, 2009, said he felt the fall may never had happened if the new health and safety officer had been appointed sooner.