THE family of a man crushed to death by a falling wall said they hoped other bussinesses would learn to keep their workers safe after the company responsible was fined for corporate manslaughter.

David Evans, of Overdown Road, Tilehurst, was killed when a two-tonne limestone block fell from the crane as it was being placed on a lintel at the home of former Pizza Express boss Hugh Osmond.

The tragedy at the Well Barn Estate in Moulsford, Wallingford, led to Cavendish Masonry Limited and director Richard Ferris being in the dock at Oxford Crown Court, charged with corporate manslaughter.

Today, a Judge Patrick Eccles fined it £150,000 after being convicted of corporate manslaugher and ordered it pay costs of £87,117.69, after Mr Evans' death on February 9, 2010.

The company denied the corporate manslaughter charge after admitting Health and Safety breaches.

Following the verdict Mr Evans’ family said they missed his smile after his “promising life was cut short”.

They said: “Since that day, over four years ago, there has been a void in our lives. We miss his smile, his infectious laugh and his profoundly honest nature. Not a single day passes without us thinking of him and wondering what his life and our lives would have been like were he here today.

“While we know that this will not bring David back to us, we now know how and why he was taken from us, how and why his promising life was cut so tragically short and how and why he will never be able to fulfil the potential that so many have attested to him having.

“We hope that this trial and the conclusions that are reached serve as an example to others in the industry. We hope that it is understood that the Health and Safety legislation is there to provide a safe working environment for all employees.

"We hope that it is understood that following such legislation and its guidelines provides a working environment where incidents such as the one that claimed the life of David are easily avoided.

“Most of all, we hope that these lessons are learned and communicated throughout the stonemason and construction industry. We do not want another family to go through the devastation and uncertainty that we have experienced over the last four years and the pain of loss which will always be with us.

“We do not want another family to lose someone as special as David John Evans.”