A building management company has been fined £120,000 after the death of a man who fell down a lift shaft.

Craig Jones, 27, fell about five floors down the shaft after the lift broke down in Marsden House in Bolton town centre in August 2014.

He had “lost his footing” after an item of clothing caught on something while he tried to climb out, a court heard.

Warwick Estates Property Management admitted breaching health and safety regulations at Bolton Crown Court.

‘Self rescue’

The court was told the lift had broken down on several previous occasions.

There was also an intermittent problem with the emergency call system meaning it did not always connect and there was no mobile phone signal.

On 30 August 2014, Mr Jones and his friend had pressed the alarm button after becoming stuck between floor four and five but the emergency call out had not been activated.

Other people who lived in the apartment block reported they had also sought “self rescue” after being stuck in the lift previously, the court heard.

Judge Clayton said the problems were “unaddressed for a substantial period of time” and this meant it was a “serious accident waiting to happen”.