Richard McBride narrowly avoided death but suffered 'terrible injuries' and his lower leg had to be amputated after he received a massive 25,000 volt shock from a still-live cable.

He was one of three men working on an overhead electric line at Marston Green during modernisation work to the West Coast Route in July 2003.

Rugby-based Elec-Track Installations Ltd, which employed the three men, pleaded guilty through its barrister Stephen Killalea QC to failing to discharge its duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

The charge detailed that the firm, now called Hythe Realisations, failed to ensure the safety of its employees while they were working on overhead rail lines

Balfour-Beatty and GT Rail Maintenance, which had formed a joint venture to carry out the work, entered guilty pleas to failing to ensure that persons not employed by them were not exposed to risk.

The three companies were fined and also ordered each of them to pay a £15 victim support surcharge.

In addition, Balfour Beatty and GT Rail Maintenance were both ordered to pay £21,000 costs after they had been subject to an earlier 'trial of issue' at Warwick Crown Court over where the main blame should lie in the case.

Richard Matthews, prosecuting for HM Inspector of Railways, said that during work to upgrade the overhead line equipment on the West Coast route a team of workers began work on the lines at Marston Green before the power was isolated.

The standard practice when undertaking such work was that a 'permit to work' was issued which certified the power isolation had taken place, and where.

The three workers were asked to sign permits but there was confusion over whether they understood that the overhead lines were not isolated.

And when they started, there there was then a sound 'like an explosion'.
Workers Michael Laws and Aaron Cribben were hurt as they jumped clear, but Mr. McBride was struck by 25,000 volts from the still-live cable.