A carpenter was cleared today of killing a BBC security guard by turning his camper van into a "gas chamber" when he negligently fitted a heater.

Stephen Bratt, 34, was found not guilty of the manslaughter of Allan Mollison, 43, found dead in the Leyland Sherpa van at Belle Tout lighthouse near Eastbourne on March 17, 1999.

Mr Mollison, employed by Nottingham-based BW Security to guard filming equipment at the landmark lighthouse, died from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by the propane gas heater fitted by Bratt, of Long Eaton, near Nottingham.

Lewes Crown Court heard how the managers of the security firm, two retired policemen, should instead have been investigated after failing to have the heater serviced for more than two years.

Mr Mollison's body was found by BBC staff filming an episode of Tomorrow's World which featured an engineering project to move the entire lighthouse back from the cliff edge.

Today a jury at Lewes cleared Bratt of manslaughter but returned a guilty verdict in relation to a second charge that he failed in his duty to ensure the safety of anyone using the J-registration van. He denied both charges.

Mr Justice Wright fined Bratt £4,000, saying: "I have to mark the fact that it was you who installed this equipment in a way that meant it was hugely dangerous, something that was always liable to cause a terrible accident. It did."

Bratt, accompanied by his wife, left court without commenting. Mr Mollison's brother Jeff said: "I think it was the right result."