A Bingley company is to face a crown Court judge after admitting failing to ensure the safety of a man who died in a building site explosion.

Michael Holland, 45, died from burns inflicted by the explosion which happened when he was working as a security guard at a site run by Topp and Holmes Builders.

A second firm yesterday also admitted contravening the Health and Safety at Work Act - charges brought by the Health and Safety Executive.

Guardwell Security, of Beeston, Leeds, by whom Mr Holland was employed for six months, had been contracted by Topp and Holmes Builders to keep night watch at the site after vandals had wrecked it.

Topp and Holmes, who employ 20 to 30 people, also admitted failing to provide fire extinguishing equipment, a charge brought by West Yorkshire Fire Service.

Mr Holland, of Fairfield Hill, Bramley, suffered 42 per cent burns to his body and died from multiple organ failure due to severe burns and inhalation of smoke, three weeks after the blast in 2002.

Sarah Dimmock, prosecuting for the fire service, said: "The defendant had on the premises a 20-litre container of petrol which was not marked in conspicuous characters with the words 'petroleum spirit' or 'highly flammable'.

"The defendant failed to keep either in the storage place, or as near as was reasonable practical fire-extinguishing apparatus."

Justine Lee, for the HSE, said both Guardwell and Topp and Holmes contravened the health and safety act by "failing to ensure that a safe system of work had been implemented."

Andrew Axon, for Topp and Holmes, said the company, established in 1982, had never been prosecuted before and said there had been no previous serious accidents.

"This was not a company that just paid lip service to health and safety," he said.

Chairman of the bench Philip Conacher said: "We think it is so serious we cannot accept jurisdiction. It must go to Crown Court."

In June this year an inquest into the death of Mr Holland returned a verdict of death by misadventure.