Silsden Sports Club has been fined for breaching health and safety regulations after a postman suffered serious injuries when his vehicle was impaled on an insecure car park barrier.

Royal Mail worker Mark Nykoniw had been delivering post at the club in August last year when the insecure barrier went through the windscreen of his van as he was driving out of the premises.

A judge at Bradford Crown Court was today (Wed) shown photographs of the aftermath of the collision which led to Mr Nykoniw being kept in Leeds General Infirmary for four days.

Prosecutor Giles Bridge said Mr Nykoniw suffered a broken jaw which had to have a plate fitted and part of his right cheek had to be re-attached.

The court heard that Mr Nykoniw's right ear was detached at the lobe and some glass fragments were embedded into his face.

Mr Nykoniw also suffered some nerve loss to his lower lip and parts of his head, but Mr Bridge confirmed that he had able to return to work.

It is understood that a civil case relating to Mr Nykoniw's injuries is on-going, but today the sports club, which is a valuable community facility run by volunteers, was sentenced for failing to ensure there was a safe entrance and exit from the premises.

The court heard that on the morning of the incident a member of the club had not secured the barrier to its latch after opening it and Judge Colin Burn was told that the failure had been an isolated occurrence.

Barrister Nigel Lawrence QC, for the club, submitted it was an unusual case involving a "one-off individual failure" by a single person which had resulted in the prosecution.

He said the club was very sorry about the injuries caused to the driver and extended their apologies to him.

Mr Lawrence explained that the club was a "not for profit organisation" with very limited finances and he asked Judge Burn to consider imposing a discharge instead of a fine.

The court heard that since the incident a notice about locking the barrier in position had been put on the gate and a metal column had been welded to the barrier to stop it penetrating the windscreen of any other vehicle.

The club had admitted breaching its duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and after considering the legal submissions and sentencing guidelines Judge Burn fined the club £140 for the offence.

Judge Burn said it was clear that on all other occasions the barrier had been secured and it was not a case involving an unsafe system.

He said it had been an isolated incident and the club's culpability fell into the low category.

"It seems to me that a fine in those circumstances is unavoidable as a disposal in this case," he concluded.

The judge had been asked to order investigation and legal costs totalling about £4000, but after hearing about the club's financial position he decided to make them pay just £146 with a victim surcharge of £14.

"This a not for profit club which is an essential part of the fabric of the community in which it operates, run by volunteers for people of all ages," he pointed out.

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “This was a very unfortunate incident that caused serious injury and could have had potentially fatal consequences. We would urge any business that has a similar swing gate on their premises to check and ensure it is being operated safely. Further advise can be found on the Health and Safety Executive website.”