The Crown Prosecution Service has decided not to press criminal charges over the death of a worker who was crushed in a waste paper compactor.

But Martin Baker's supervisors and site owners Bradford Council could still find themselves in court following a separate investigation by health and safety officials.

In August last year the 38-year-old was working at a waste-processing plant in Bowling Back Lane, Bradford, when he fell into the powerful hydraulic machine and suffered fatal injuries.

Detectives investigated how Mr Baker, of Andover Green, Holme Wood, came to drop into the compactor which presses waste paper and cardboard sheets into 4ft bales. It is understood their inquiry centred upon working practices at the site, run by West Yorkshire Waste Management.

Officers passed their findings to the Crown Prosecution Service which this week ruled that charges should not be brought.

A Bradford police spokesman said: "We have sought the advice of the Crown Prosecution Service and there will be no criminal prosecution in relation to this case."

He added: "The file will now be passed to the Coroner for an inquest and Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inquiries are ongoing." A spokesman for the HSE - a Government body which has the power to prosecute employers who breach safety legislation - said its investigation had been carried out at the site.

He said: "The HSE is aware of the decision and is awaiting the outcome of the inquest."

And a Bradford Council spokesman said: "We are aware of the decision and are awaiting the outcome of the inquest before deciding on whether we feel further action should be taken."

At the time of his death, Mr Baker was planning to marry Louise Munday, the mother of his five-year-old daughter Jessica. He also leaves a 19-year-old son Gareth from a previous relationship.

Miss Munday said he was totally devoted to his daughter. "He adored her, she was the apple of his eye and she loved her dad."

And she said of the keen Bradford Bulls fan: "He was such a happy-go-lucky person who never let anything bother him. I just cannot believe he has gone."