A Selby mine worker who suffered severe depression after he believed he was to blame for an accident which killed a colleague failed today in a Court of Appeal bid for the right to claim damages.

But Lord Justice Hobhouse, who disagreed with the decision of two other appeal judges, gave 41-year-old John Hunter seven days in which to lodge notice of an appeal to the House of Lords.

Mr Hunter, who was employed by Cementation Mining Company, was driving a vehicle underground at North Selby mine at Escrick, in 1990, when he damaged a protruding hydrant while negotiating a narrow transport road.

He tried to turn off the water flowing from the hydrant and was joined by Tommy Carter who came to help him.

Mr Hunter set off to find a hose to channel the water away from the road but when he had walked 20 to 30 yards, he "heard an almighty bang like a bomb going off".

When he began to walk back to the scene, a workmate told him Mr Carter was dead and his immediate reaction was "I killed him".

Mr Carter had died when the hydrant burst and the force of the water tore off one of his arms.

Dr Peter Wood, a consultant psychiatrist, said Mr Hunter could not sleep properly and although he had returned to work, he had aged and was still preoccupied by his memories during the day.

It had been found at an earlier hearing that measurements taken after the accident showed that clearances in the roadway were below the prescribed minimum. Cementation was found to have been negligent.

But Judge Bentley, at Sheffield Crown Court, turned down Mr Hunter's claim for damages against the company and British Coal, owners of the mine at that time. Lord Justice Brooke, in a judgment today, said that if the law was widened to provide compensation for a survivor's guilt it would have "incalculable consequences".

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