Man seeks compensation over accident at work that caused eye damage

An eye injury that nearly resulted in blindness has led a worker to seek compensation from his former employers.

Carl Woodbridge was pruning cactus plants in the Milton Keynes Shopping Centre when toxic sap from the foliage squirted into his neck, face, arm and right eye, burning his cornea.

"It felt like horrific burning, like there was a fire under my eyeball. I couldn't see for a week. I thought I might go blind," he said.

The accident caused temporary blindness and he was taken to a hospital, where a layer of latex-like film was scraped off his eyeball by doctors.

Mr Woodbridge's employer Ambius, a subsidiary of Rentokil Initial - which employs more than 68,000 people around the world - was subsequently fined £12,000 for breaking health and safety laws.

The decision was made after Milton Keynes Magistrates' Court ruled he had not been given sufficient training or protective clothing.

He is now seeking compensation from the firm after being forced to take six weeks off work due to the eye injury.