THE widow of a man crushed to death in a works accident slammed company bosses today for failing to learn lessons after a similar tragedy in Blackburn five years earlier.

Ian Holgate, 29, a father-of-two, died after being dragged into unguarded rollers on a paper-making machine when trying to clear a build-up of pulp at Smurfit's mill in Calder Vale Road, Burnley, on January 26 last year.

Yesterday, the firm pleaded guilty at Reedley Magistrates to failing to ensure the safety of their staff.

Magistrates referred sentencing to Burnley Crown Court after deciding their powers of sentence were too limited.

In 1995, Mark Earnshaw, of Wilson Street, Blackburn, was killed when he fell into a baling machine at Smurfit Recycling on the Whitebirk Industrial Estate. The firm was fined £15,000 in 1996 for failing to take adequate safety measures.

Managers at Smurfit were also warned about the importance of making sure equipment was safe weeks before Ian's death when Health and Safety Executive staff wrote to them following an accident at a paper mill in Scotland.

Mr Holgate's widow Elizabeth said: "Ian told me about the 1995 accident because everyone knew about it.

"I never thought he would end up dying like that.

"It makes me so angry that a firm like that can be prosecuted for something like that yet do nothing to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Mrs Holgate, who lives at a rented farmhouse off Barrowford Road, Fence, with their two children Chloe, 10 and Conor, eight, added: "Ian's death shouldn't have happened. The company had more than enough warning."

None of the company's directors were in court yesterday because they were on a health and safety course.

But magistrates found that aggravating features were:

The accident was not a one-off

No action had been taken on an assessment of the dangers

Training was not given about specific dangers on that particular machine

Although the company had been alerted by the Health and Safety Executive about the dangers on that machine no action had been taken.

Mrs Holgate added: "I have nothing against his former colleagues at work but I feel bitterness against management for not taken action which could have prevented the accident.

"He enjoyed working there and made many friends. His colleagues have supported us since the accident. It was a terrible thing to happen."

John Batty, prosecuting for the Health and Safety Executive, said Mr Holgate had climbed a ladder to the gantry and entered into a gap to try to clean it.

Rather than shut the machine down he had run his fingers along the roller area to remove the debris. Unfortunately his gloved hand, arm and then the rest of his body were dragged into the machine.

Mr Batty said: "Anyone could have gained access to the gantry as Mr Holgate did and the dangers are all too apparent. Guarding which is basic in this kind of case was not provided."

Inquiries had revealed that the actions taken by Mr Holgate were not a one-off and had been adopted by others who gave evidence at the inquest.

"That problem had not been properly identified by the company and had not been addressed," he said.

Richard Hartley, for the company, expressed apologies and condolences to Mrs Holgate and her family and said nothing would repair those dreadful matters.

He said: "There had been no wanton disregard or recklessness. It was an error of judgement due to lack of communication between senior and junior managers.

"Senior managers were not aware of the method being used on some shifts to clear the build up of board pulp but it was known by the first level managers."

The company was concerned about health and safety issues and in 1999 the Burnley site had received an award for having the most improved safety record, he said.

The day after the accident a full guard was put in place. There was not a flagrant disregard of safety matters, he added.

Smurfit's Burnley mill was subject to a management buyout by Mark Slevin last summer when the company was relaunched under the new name of Papermarc.