A Leicestershire building firm has been fined after an employee fell five metres and was then struck by a wooden board and concrete blocks after a partially built floor gave way.

The worker, who does not wish to be named, fractured his elbow and nose in the incident in Shepshed in January, when the second floor of a new build house he was working on gave way after being overloaded with concrete blocks.

Leicester Magistrates' Court heard on 29 November that the joists collapsed onto the first floor joists, which also gave way but helped break his fall. He then fell to the ground with the materials, some of which landed on top of him and he was unable to return to work for six weeks.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigated and prosecuted his employer, W J Edge & Sons Builders, for failing to prevent the incomplete floor from being used and overloaded.

The Hinckley based firm was fined £7,000 and ordered to pay £5,000 in costs after pleading guilty to breaching the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2007.

HSE inspector Martin Waring said: "This could have been a far more serious incident had the lower joists not helped to break the worker's fall to the concrete below. He was also fortunate that a wooden board that landed on top of him provided a degree of protection from the falling concrete blocks.

"Had the company properly planned the work and prevented the incomplete floor from being accessed and overloaded, then the incident could have been avoided. It's essential that a build sequence is closely managed and that floor sections are properly constructed prior to working on them."

The latest figures show that 38 people died as a result of a fall in a workplace in Great Britain in 2010/11, and more than 4,000 suffered a major injury.

Information on preventing falls is available at www.hse.gov.uk/falls.