An illiterate Cleckheaton man was killed by dangerous working practices employed by his boss, a jury heard today.

John Speight, 25, died five days after he was crushed by a rubbish cage, known as a brute, which fell from a forklift truck.

A jury at Leeds Crown Court heard Mr Speight, who had special needs and was banned from operating machinery, died from internal crush injuries on February 3, 1998.

He had fallen from the mesh cage while emptying rubbish into a skip. The cage he had been in then landed on top of him at Easy Moss Products in Dewsbury.

Company owner Roger Jackson, 43, of Barker Street, Horbury, Wakefield, denies charges of his manslaughter and failing to ensure the safety of his employees.

Mr Speight, of Foldings Avenue, Scholes, had just completed a six-month work placement and had been employed to continue working at the firm by Remploy just a day before the accident.

Roger Keen QC, prosecuting, said: "There was nothing securing the brute to the truck. There were no safety measures at all.

"John Speight was in the brute and the driver started to reverse back.

"There was a toppling and John Speight fell to the ground and the brute fell on top of him, crushing his abdomen."

Mr Keen QC told the court the firm, which made linings for hanging baskets, employed people with special needs and had up to 40 workers.

The trial continues.

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