Alex Oakley-Slater, 16, was working his part-time Saturday job for P Madden Groundworks in September last year when a nine-tonne digger he was riding on toppled over.

Alex was flung 12 foot from the vehicle and broke his collarbone in two places. He was airlifted to hospital from the scene in Nixon Lane, Moss Side.

Peter Madden, 47, from Redwood Avenue, Leyland, pleaded guilty to 'breaching his general duty to an employee,' at South Ribble Magistrates Court and was given a conditional discharge for two years, with £500 costs to Chorley Borough Council.

Alex's mum Julie Slater criticised the sentence, but says her son is ready for a fresh start: "The news of the sentence was a blow, it feels like nothing has come of what happened.

"There was a similar case in Wigan recently and the guy was fined thousands of pounds. We didn't want him ruined for the sake of it, but him getting off with it is beyond our comprehension."

Alex missed a lot of his final year at Wellfield Business and Enterprise College, Leyland, but managed to sit his GCSE exams.

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