THE family of a BT engineer killed in a freak accident still hope that the company might eventually face prosecution.

An inquest into the death of Tara Whelan, 24, ruled that it was accidental but BT was asked to urgently look at recommendations to improve safety.

After the verdict Miss Whelan's father, John, a publican from Frome, said: "I think the coroner and the jury have come up with the right verdict and it is my hope that there will be a prosecution against BT, although I don't know what form that might take."

Miss Whelan died in June 2001 when the pole on which she was working snapped in half after a passing lorry snagged a low hanging wire.

Police have ruled out a criminal prosecution against the company but want safety improvements to be implemented.

The inquest was opened last year but was dramatically abandoned after union representatives claimed vital information about the safety of the pole had not been passed on to the coroner.

It emerged that the telephone company had twice been warned by its own engineers that work was needed on the pole and that overhead cables were too low.

Mr Whelan said: "The outcome is 12 months later than it needed to be.

"I think we are very lucky that there happened to be a union representative there to talk for us, which is what forced BT to own up."

DS Dave Martin of Trowbridge police criticised the company's safety margins on low wires and made a series of recommendations designed to improve safety.

He said: "We have an accident here that was preventable and someone has died because BT did not take the action they should have."

The inquest heard that at the time of the accident the minimum instalment height of overhead cables was 5.5 metres, but those below that level but above 4.9 metres were considered a low priority for repair.

DS Martin said: "Four point nine metres is not a safe margin when a transport survey tells us there are one to two thousand vehicles out there at 4.88 metres."

Since the accident BT has issued new guidelines forbidding engineers to climb poles when wires are hanging below 5.2 metres.

A BT spokesman said: "BT is and always will be firmly committed to ensuring a safe working environment for its people and customers, and regrets this tragic accident.

"We have already made a great many changes to our practices following this tragic event and we will of course give full and careful consideration to Mr Martin's recommendations."