The crane grab which crushed student Simon Jones to death was declared unsafe by a government inspector, a court heard.

Mr Jones, 24, was killed when the jaws of the grab accidentally snapped shut as he loaded bags of stone from a ship's hold at Shoreham Harbour.

Christine Barringer, an HM Health and Safety Inspector, told an Old Bailey jury that the machinery on the giant crane was dangerous and breached regulations.

The expert made several visits to the site to examine the equipment in the months after the tragedy, the court heard.

Following her inspection she gave shipping firm Euromin a prohibition notice, banning the company from using the machinery.

Commenting on the set-up of the grab, Miss Berringer said: "I have never seen an operation like that.

"In my opinion it would not have been a safe system of work in general."

Miss Berringer said the banning order was imposed after she concluded the excavator, with lifting chain attachment, posed "a risk of serious personal injury".

The equipment was unsuitable for the work for which it had been adapted, she said.

During testing of the crane she noted the controls for the clamshell grab were "extremely sensitive" and remarkably quiet."

Miss Berringer told the jury: "That sensitivity is for the benefit of the operator of the equipment to avoid any risk of strain and stress in the operation."

After the inspection a legal notice was lodged with the company requiring a "proper programme of induction and training for all casuals."

The court has heard that Mr Jones, a Sussex University student, was on his first day as a casual worker for the shipping firm.

Miss Berringer said no staff at Euromin alerted her to the fact there was a stop valve located on the side of the excavator.

Photographs also revealed that vision between the hold and crane was obscured by a conveyor belt system.

Euromin and its general manager Richard Martell, of Jubilee House, Aldingbourne Drive, Crocker Hill, Chichester, deny charges of manslaughter and six charges under Health and Safety regulations.

The prosecution claims the company, under the instructions of its manager, put their workers' lives at risk after ignoring several health and safety measures.

It is thought the operator, known for his baggy clothing, accidentally nudged the lever which shuts the claw.

The trial continues.