AN INQUIRY was under way last night after the first workplace fatality at Merseyside’s Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) plant for around 30 years.

Graham Begley, 49, died at the Halewood factory after an incident in which he was crushed between two heavy pieces of machinery being moved by a crane.

An ambulance arrived at the factory within six minutes of receiving a report a man was trapped, just after 8pm on Monday.

Specially-trained paramedics freed Mr Begley, who was taken by ambulance to Whiston Hospital suffering multiple injuries but was pronounced dead at 10.30pm.

A postmortem concluded yesterday afternoon showed the Liverpool FC fan died of asphyxiation.

Last night there was further drama at JLR as another worker was rushed to hospital after being hit by a forklift truck.

Mr Begley worked at the plant as a die-setter for more than 20 years and was described by colleagues as a “big affable guy”.

Merseyside Police confirmed a joint investigation with the Health and Safety Executive was under way, and said the death was being treated as “unexplained”.

A police spokesman said: “Officers were called to the Jaguar Land Rover factory shortly after 8pm by paramedics. On arrival, they found a man aged in his late 40s being treated for serious injuries.

“He was taken to Whiston Hospital for emergency treatment but was pronounced dead at around 10.30pm.”