A change in the law is needed after the appalling death of Sussex University student Simon Jones on his first day as a casual labourer.

It took a long time for his employers, Euromin, and general manager Richard Martell, to be prosecuted for manslaughter.

As the law stands, it was scarcely a surprise that both were acquitted yesterday at the Old Bailey.

It is some compensation that the firm was found guilty of breaching health and safety regulations after a two-tonne grab snapped shut on Simon's head while he unloaded a boat at Shoreham Harbour.

The £50,000 fine plus £20,000 costs, with all the attendant publicity, will at least serve as some sort of warning to this company about its shocking work practices.

But it is not enough. An inexperienced worker such as Simon should never have been placed in such a perilous position.

Corporate manslaughter is hard to prove, with only about half the prosecutions succeeding, because of problems in identifying who at the firm was personally responsible for the offence.

What's needed is a new law covering deaths in the workplace so that firms and their bosses can be properly punished for cases for gross negligence.

The death of Simon, a young man full of promise, was a terrible blow to his loyal friends and family.

It would be a fitting tribute to his memory if the law on negligence was strengthened after this case.