The Hucknall-based screen printer was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £8,032 after an employee fractured his neck falling from a vehicle-mounted lift in November 2009.

An HSE investigation found that the company had failed to ensure the vehicle-mounted lift was thoroughly examined in the six months before the incident, as required by law.

City and County Signs pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 9(3)(a)(i) of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998.

According to the HSE investigation, the 44-year-old employee was using the lift to remove a sign from a commercial property in Hucknall High Street when the incident happened.

Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court heard the worker was standing in the basket but as it elevated one of two levelling rods that keep the basket horizontal at all times broke, causing the basket to tip backwards.

The man, who does not want to be named, fell around 1.5m and suffered minor injuries in addition to fracturing his neck.

He spent six days in hospital and when discharged was initially unable to drive or undertake routine tasks, leading to nine weeks off work.

HSE inspector Lorna Sherlock said: "There is a legal requirement for all employers who use lifting equipment to ensure they have it thoroughly examined by a competent person every six months.

"Had the company done this the cracks in the levelling rod would have been identified and repaired and this incident avoided. Instead, a worker suffered some nasty injuries which could have easily been much worse.

City and County Signs was not available for comment at this time.