Painter Peter Wilson, aged 55, spent more than five months in hospital after a cradle on the outside of a tower block in Sheffield city centre collapsed, allegedly because it had not been maintained properly.

His colleague Tony Bottomley, 60, died in the incident at the S1 St James Building on Vicar Lane in July 2003.

Mr Wilson, who suffered extensive fractures and internal injuries, appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on crutches to give evidence at the trial of cradle owners Apollo Cranes, of Carlton, Barnsley.

The firm denies three offences under the Health and Safety At Work Act of not maintaining the cradle properly.

He said: "All I can remember is waking up on the floor. I spent five months in hospital and still use a wheelchair."

The court heard Mr Wilson now has trouble sitting in a cramped position - and took a break during his evidence so he did not have to stay in the witness box for too long.

He said that, on the day of the tragedy, he was standing closest in the painting cradle to Mr Bottomley, who was at the right-hand end, operating one of two winches that moved the cradle up and down the building.

Mr Wilson said the right-hand winch kept getting stuck "three to five times a day".

The painters were due to work on windows on the fourth floor of the building, and were descending from the 11th floor, when the cradle broke after the right-hand cables got stuck in their winch level with the sixth floor.

Mr Wilson recalled the moments leading up to the plunge, to a lower-level roof, when Mr Bottomley tried to free the cables.

"Tony pulled a handle out on the winch and turned it, but it jumped back, trapping his fingers. He pulled it back out to free his fingers, then the cradle broke," he said.

Two other colleagues in the cradle - Anthony Glossop and Dale Howard - suffered fractures and internal injuries.

Mr Wilson, who was working under contract for Bradway Construction Ltd, said he had been working on the building for three months when disaster struck.

He told the court he and colleagues had not been given precautions about how to use the cradle, and that apart from the winches it was out uncovered in all weathers.

The jury has already been told an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive found the cradle collapsed after a crucial bracket holding the structure suddenly snapped. The bracket was found to be corroded, the bolt holes were worn, and the wrong bolts had been used.

The trial continues.

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