The incident, which took place in September 2004, occured when Michael Fincham fell from a three-level gantry alongside a press at the King's Lynn printer, sustaining a foot injury.

He said: "The lower platform on the gantry wasn't secure and I lost my footing and fell heavily.

"Since the accident, my foot has been weakened and I now walk with a permanent limp."

Fincham won the case with assistance from Unite. Tony Burke, assistant general secretary at Unite, said: "Unite takes health and safety very seriously in the printing and packaging industry where we have a large membership."

He added: "Woe betide any company which takes a cavalier attitude to health and safety. Make no mistake, we will pursue them."

Health and safety in print has also been in the spotlight after Britton Decoflex in Hartlepool was fined more than £6,000 after an employee broke his left hand – according to the Hartlepool Mail.

Kamil Podsaidly also lost the tip of a finger in the accident last year after having it dragged in the metal rollers of the company's press.

The safety guards that should have stopped the machine were reported to have failed to work because tape had been used to hold in a switch.

Britton Decoflex appeared at Hartlepool Magistrates' Court on 18 July and admitted breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act by failing to prevent access to dangerous moving parts of machinery and was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £4,383 in costs, the paper reported.