Family tells of grief for engineer killed by lift

The family of an engineer crushed to death by a lift today paid tribute to "a wonderful man and father" after his employer was fined over the accident.

Andrew Bates, 35, was carrying out routine installation work on the lift at a surveyors' firm in Mayfair when he was killed in 2005. He was caught between the top of the lift and the top of a landing door after damage to a cable caused the lift to shoot upwards.

Mr Bates's sons, Reece, 20, and Connor, 15, were still struggling to cope with his death, said his brother Neil, 37. He added: "The pain will never leave them. It will never leave any of us."

J Brown Services of West Kingsdown, Kent, which is no longer trading, was ordered to pay £45,000 in a fine and costs at the Old Bailey after it admitted an offence under health and safety laws.