A developer has been fined nearly £200,000 for the "breathtaking incompetence" which led to a workman being crushed to death.

A Court heard how the wealthy entrepreneur had tried to cut costs by employing a builder who had no experience of demolition work.

Yesterday he and the builder were ordered to pay more than £200,000 in fines and costs over the tragic incident.

But the family of the dead man have condemned the fines as inadequate, saying the two men should have been "shut down" and not allowed to trade again.

Mark Anthony Wroe, of Knowles Lane, Holme Wood, was just 22 and father to three-year-old Shannon, when the incident occurred at a building site in Water Lane, Halifax, in February 2001.

An inquest verdict of unlawful killing last year paved the way for a criminal prosecution and yesterday developer Brian Kunz and jobbing builder Alistair Smith, appeared at Bradford Crown Court to be sentenced for breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Kunz, 66, of Weeton Lane, Leeds, pleaded guilty to three offences and was fined a total of £195,000 and ordered to pay £9,251 costs.

Smith, 39, of Quarry Road, Gomersal, admitted one offence and was fined £4,000 with £1,000 costs. His firm Yorkco 150 Ltd, trading as Britannia Construction, admitted a similar offence but no separate penalty was imposed.

After the case, Mark's mother said her son's life was worth much more than the fines imposed. Sheila Wroe, of Felcourt Drive, Holme Wood, said: "I am disgusted really. There is nothing that is going to bring my son back, but at the end of the day I think they should be shut down and not allowed to trade. It has already been proved that my son's death was not an accident."

The 41-year-old mother of five said the family was still finding it difficult to come to terms with the death of their eldest son.

"We are not coping too well but you have to carry on for the children," she said.

The court heard how Kunz was a sole trader operating as Wharfedale Finance Co and had a property portfolio worth around £23 million. Mark's father, Maurice Wroe, 43, said: "We thought the court would cripple them but they can live with these kind of fines.

"It is totally within their means and I would have thought they will be feeling pretty pleased with the decision."

The court heard that in February 2001 Smith was hired to carry out work on the building, demolishing a stone archway to widen the entrance.

But Smith, who did regular work for Kunz, had no experience of demolition and did not appreciate the risks of the extremely dangerous operation.

The court heard how "stones began to fly" and one workman was knocked off the scaffolding, fracturing his wrist.

Stone blocks, each weighing around 25 stones, fell from the archway on to Mr Wroe, fatally injuring him.

Thomas Bayliss, prosecuting, said it was "manifestly unsafe" to start demolishing the archway without it being properly supported.

Kunz had allowed the work to start without appointing a planning supervisor, preparing a safety plan or appointing a principal contractor who was competent.

"The manner in which he undertook this project suggested he was prepared to take risks with safety to save costs," said Mr Bayliss.

The Health and Safety Executive had warned him about such matters on an earlier occasion and again since the accident.

Paul Issacs, for Smith, said: "He will never get over the fact that he is partly responsible for someone's death."

Matthew Smith, for Kunz, said the incompetence of the method used to demolish the archway was "breathtaking".

Had Kunz taken interest at the time, the inadequacy would have been apparent, but he trusted Smith and had been satisfied with his work.

Judge Roger Scott said it was not a job Smith should have done or was competent to do and what he did was inherently dangerous.

He said Kunz, who he described as "clearly an extremely wealthy man", had chosen to employ cheap labour.

"To say it was deliberate cost-cutting is a little too high. I think it was the way he worked," said Judge Scott.