THE sister of a man killed in a factory accident has branded the suspended sentence imposed on the man responsible for his death as an "outrage."

Georgina Bail, 27, was speaking minutes after Michael Shaw, 45, received a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years, for the manslaughter through gross negligence of David Bail, 22, at the Change of Style factory in Totton in May 2003.

Mr Bail, from Romsey, was crushed to death in a stone-cutting machine that had vital safety features disabled.

The trial heard that a light beam system that would have stopped the machine if anyone got too close had been deactivated.

Witnesses said Shaw said the stoppages cost too much time and money.

Shaw, 45, denied any responsibility throughout a three-week trial that ended with a hung jury on Wednesday but he changed his plea at Winchester Crown Court yesterday.

The judge, Mr Justice Owen, said the only reason he had suspended the sentence was because jail would jeopardise the future of the company which employs 25 people.

The judge said: "Some may feel you have got off lightly. But you will have to live out your days in the knowledge that you are responsible for that terrible tragedy, the needless death of this young man."

Outside court, Miss Bail, 27, from Birmingham, said of the sentence: "I'm outraged. They have taken away my brother, my soulmate, my best friend. My life has been torn apart. I wouldn't like to put into words what I think of Mr Shaw."

"We're quite glad he has admitted it but it has taken him three years," she said.

Mr Bail's father Chris, 56, engineer, also of Birmingham, said: "At least another tragedy has been prevented because of the safety checks at this and other places. As a family we would not want to bear the loss of 25 people's livelihoods. If he was jailed he would only do 12 months. For the sake of 12 months, I think the result today was fair," he added.

The Bails ruled out any civil action. Ms Bail said: "We just want to put my brother to rest and close the doors on it now."

Shaw, of Bridgnorth Road, Wolver-hampton, and the company were fined a total of £70,000 for ten breaches of health and safety regulations. His son, Gavin Shaw, 25, of The Crescent, Ashurst, was fined £1,500 for one health and safety breach. He was earlier cleared of a manslaughter charge due to the lack of evidence.

A decent man' Mitigating for Shaw senior, Peter Birkett QC, said: "He has pleaded guilty in exceptional if not unprecedented circumstances. He was adamant he did not want the matter to go to a retrial. He believes many people would suffer, including the family of David Bail and the employees of Change of Style. It is a mark of a fundamentally decent man that he has done what he has done."

Mr Birkett said the company had gone through difficult years since the accident and was now barely making a profit. A second factory in Dudley, west Midlands, had closed. Mr Shaw had suffered a heart attack because of the stress of the investigation.

Richard Matthews, mitigating, for Shaw junior, said he had resigned as a director on a salary of £24,000 in November 2003 and left the company at the end of 2005. He is now a £20,000-a-year salesman for a telecommunication company.

A manslaughter charge against the firm was ordered to lie on file.

n The court heard that Peter Cowley, production manager at the time of the death, had pleaded guilty to a breach of health and safety regulations. Magistrates fined him £600 and ordered him to pay £100 costs.