A MAN who was crushed to death in a building site accident was run over by a caterpillar digger, police said today.

Christopher Brierton, 23, of Eachill Road, Rishton, died at the site of Fischback Ltd, a plastic cartridges manufacturer based in Warrington Road, Runcorn, on Monday.

Paramedics were called to the scene but were unable to save Mr Brierton, who was pronounced dead at Warrington Hospital.

His family in Rishton have been informed of his death.

According to workers at the site, Mr Brierton had been working at the site for around two months, employed by a contracting firm called York House Construction Ltd.

The company had been building a small warehouse on the site, but work has stopped since the accident.

A spokesman for Cheshire Police confirmed: "We were called to the site at 9.05am on Monday where there had been an accident.

"The Health and Safety Executive have been informed of the accident and our initial investigations indicate that it is something which they will now deal with."

Paramedics called to the scene at the same time as the police described Mr Brierton as suffering from 'crush' injuries, caused by the digger running him over.

York House Construction Ltd could not be contacted for comment, while a spokesman for Fischback said that they were co-operating with the Health and Safety Executive investigation.

The digger has not been moved since the accident.

A spokesman for the HSE said: "We are working with the police on this investigation, which is normal for these sorts of accidents.

"Our inquiries are only at an early stage so it is too soon to comment further."

The tragedy comes just weeks after the Health and Safety Executive launched a campaign aimed at improving safety on building sites across the UK.

In 2002, 79 people died on building sites after being struck by a moving vehicle -- one of the most common causes of the accidents.