A forestry company has been fined £20,000 after a man died in an accident when a tree fell on him.

Peter Aleksejevs was found pinned underneath a beech tree in woodland north of Chichester in September 2000.

A judge at Chichester Crown Court was told Mr Aleksejevs had been hired as a sub-contractor by Euroforest Ltd to fell trees despite not having the necessary qualifications.

Stephen Thomas, prosecuting, said one simple phone call would have told the company he was not competent to do the work.

Euroforest, of Farnham, Surrey, admitted two charges of failing to ensure persons not in its employment were not exposed to health and safety risks.

Mr Thomas said Mr Aleksejevs had failed a chainsaw test in April during which an instructor ruled that the cuts he made were not good enough to give him control over felling trees.

Mr Aleksejevs, who lived at Fishbourne, near Chichester, was found dead in Inholmes Wood, Stoughton, on September 22 last year just two days after his 41st birthday.

Mr Thomas said checks at the site revealed other safety issues including a tractor towing cables which was not fitted with a rear guard to protect the driver in the event of them snapping.

Nigel Daly, defending, said the company had no previous convictions and had never suffered a fatality.

He added: "This is not a cowboy operation nor a company prepared to sacrifice everything to the great god, profit."

Mr Daly said chainsaw certificates were now checked and kept in an office.

Although the company had a turnover of £21 million it operated in a competitive industry and final profits were £202,000 at the end of the last financial year.

Judge Anthony Thorpe said it was a "dreadful fatality" and he had to impose a fine which would reflect the mitigation as well as public anxiety about safety in the workplace.

Euroforest must also pay £7,000 costs towards the prosecution and the investigation which was mounted by the Health and Safety executive.