THE grieving mother of an Unsworth teenager who died in a works accident after becoming trapped in a machine has given a speech about her son at a special conference.

Joanne Hill attended a Manchester International Workers Memorial Day event held in the city on April 28, remembering those killed at work and supporting the fight to stop others dying unnecessarily.

She is the mother of 16-year-old Cameron Minshull, who died on January 8, 2013, following an incident at Huntley Mount Engineering Ltd in Huntley Mount Road, Bury.

He was serving as an apprentice, having left Radcliffe Riverside High School the previous summer.

Recalling the day of the tragedy, his mother told the assembled audience: "Never in a million years did I think that when I went to collect him I would be met by two policemen to be told that my little boy had been in an accident. Cameron was fatally injured by a lathe.

"I thought my son was safe at work. I put my trust in his employer, the Government, the safety people, and the training agency to help my boy grow up to become a man. I was let down in a way that will never mend.

"Cameron, Charlie and Courtney were all born with three years of each other and were very close. They grew up leaning on each other and Courtney and Charlie looked up to big brother Cameron who was such a caring, loving boy: Cameron was their hero."

She continued: "I have to wipe the tears from my daughter and son’s faces and try to comfort them as they miss their beloved brother. I took Cameron to work where I thought he would be safe. He should have been, but he wasn’t.

"I hold his employers, the training company and the Government responsible for failing to keep him safe for us, his family. And I tell other employers and the Government: You must keep all workers safe and especially young workers starting out on their lives."

* Court proceedings into the incident are still ongoing.

In March, Huntley Mount Engineering pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court to one count of corporate manslaughter and not guilty to a second count of failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of an employee.

The firm's director, Zaffar Hussain and Akbar Hussain, a supervisor, both denied separate counts of manslaughter.

Zaffar Hussain pleaded guilty to being an officer of a body corporate which committed an offence against the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, while Akbar Hussain pleaded not guilty to the same charge.

Akbar Hussain pleaded guilty to a third count of failing to discharge a health and safety duty contrary to section seven of the Health and Safety at Work Act. A second company, Lime People Training Solutions Ltd, is charged with failing to ensure the welfare of a person other than an employee and did not attend court.