A roofing firm has been fined after a teenage worker "was lucky to survive" falling from a ladder.

Craig Smith, 18, was helping to put the roof on a new single storey building at Caldecott Primary School last July when he fell, breaking a bone in his back and was off work for four months.

He and a colleague had been carrying rolls of felt, cork and hot bitumen up a ladder to get to the roof, using only a single hand to keep their balance.

Mr Smith, of Enstone, began descending the ladder with a can of empty bitumen when he lost his balance, slipped and fell four metres to the ground

The apprentice roof felter was employed by Julian Tyrrell Felt Roofing, based at Oxford Airport, Kidlington.

The firm pleaded guilty to not providing a proper mechanical means of lifting materials at Wantage Magistrates' Court and was fined £750 and ordered to pay £382 in costs.

Karen Ticehurst, prosecuting for the Health and Safety Executive, said: "Mr Smith is fortunate that he is still alive today. By not providing a rope and pulley to carry materials up and down there was an unacceptable risk to employees."

Adrian Higgins, defending, said work took place during the summer holidays when there were many contracts and there was a shortage of rope and pulleys.

He said: "This company has a very good safety record and spends between £10,000 and £15,000 a year on safety and training for its staff. The company admitted it was at fault straight away and rectified the problem. It was a one-off incident."

After the case, the firm's boss, Julian Tyrrell, said: "It was an unfortunate set of circumstances and we have learnt our lesson. Fortunately, Craig has recovered and he is back at work with us."