A Cumbrian factory worker has been awarded compensation of £3,000 after developing repetitive strain injury.

Geoffrey Coleman was an employee at a factory in Kendal packing a new product into the company's finishing department. He had to pack large sheets of paper into a plastic bag which, when full, weighed 50 kilograms. He suffered a ligament strain in his forearms due to the repetitive nature of the job.

When the working injury became apparent Mr Coleman approached his union, Unite, which funded his claim.

The union's regional secretary Paul Finegan said: "To the company's credit they did all the right things once Geoffrey had been injured. Following the incident they did a root cause investigation, brought a specialist in and highlighted the problems that caused the injury and put a safer system of work in to prevent it happening again."

Mr Coleman has now recovered from the injuries and still works at the factory.