A man working on the construction of the new Wembley Stadium has sued the company employing him after an accident at work permanently damaged his sight in one eye.

Employed by Fast Track Site Services in December 2005, Ian Pearson, a 36 year old steel erector from Newham in Nottinghamshire, was hammering a steel pin into a hole when a piece of galvanised coating flew off and hit him in the eye.

Although Ian had been provided with safety goggles, they were not the right kind for the job he had been asked to do and as a consequence, Ian now suffers from permanently blurred vision.

Mr Pearson should have been provided with safety glasses which provided all round protection to his eyes. The damage to his eye could have been avoided had he been given the correct equipment.

He received £6,500 in compensation in an out of court settlement after Fast Track admitted liability. The Walsall-based company has now dissolved. Speaking of his victory, Mr Pearson expressed how important it was to him that his former employers should accept liability saying, “I should have been supplied with the correct goggles. I’ve learnt to live with the end result of this accident and I don’t let it affect my life, but I hate to think how I would have coped if I had lost my sight”.