Telecoms giant BT will be prosecuted over the death of a female engineer who was thrown 20ft from a pole while working near Trowbridge three years ago.

Tara Whelan, 24, died from head injuries two weeks after a lorry crashed into cables in Marsh Road, Hilperton, snapping the pole in two and throwing her into the road.

The health and safety executive (HSE) has charged BT with three offences stemming from the accident.

A jury inquest in March 2003 ruled the engineer's death was accidental but urged BT to take on a raft of safety improvements covering the repair of low-lying cables.

Miss Whelan's father John said he hoped BT would face prosecution after an inquest heard an initial inspection of the pole in 1999, had ruled it was not safe to climb.

Since Miss Whelan's death BT has issued new guidelines forbidding engineers to climb poles when wires are lower than 5.2m.

BT has been charged with two offences under the Health and Safety At Work Act concerned with failure to ensure the safety of employees, and a third offence under the Management of Health and Safety At Work Act.

Officials from the Communic-ation Workers Union (CWU) welcomed the prosecution.

Officer Dave Joyce said: "This news ends a long wait and a lot of uncertainty for Tara's family and colleagues.

"Whilst we have always thought a decision by the HSE to prosecute BT was the right one and one we expected, as we have seen in other fatal accident cases, it is never a foregone conclusion.

"The unions want to see better health and safety standards and better safety law enforcement by the HSE because only if this happens will we avoid more fatalities."

The firm will appear before Chippenham Magistrates' on September 7.