Anthony Gower-Smith, 73, fell off the six foot stepladder while taking down a display at Awbridge Primary School, in Romsey, Hampshire, in 2004.

He fractured his skull, broke a cheekbone, split a kidney and spent time in the intensive care unit in nearby Southampton General Hospital, Winchester County Court heard. He has not been able to work since the accident.

Mr Gower-Smith, a former garage proprietor, sued Hampshire County Council for liability, claiming they did not tell him how to properly use a stepladder.

The council denied negligence but a judge agreed with Mr Gower-Smith, from North Baddesley, Southampton, that the council was 75 per cent to blame for his accident.

Mr Gower-Smith started work at the school in October 2002 and had induction training with caretaker support officer Chris Higgins.

The pensioner told the court he had signed a form to say he had received "ladder training" but said this only consisted of being warned not to stand on the top platform or work at higher than three metres off the ground.

He denied that Mrs Higgins had given him other safety advice, such as placing the ladder at right angles to the wall being worked on. The court heard that the ladder was placed side on to the wall, potentially making it more unstable, when he fell off.

An inquiry at the time of the accident found that the council was not at fault and found that Mr Gower-Smith had positioned the ladder improperly before overbalancing.

But Recorder Christopher Moger QC, sitting at London's High Court, said Mr Gower-Smith's training was deficient.

He said Mr Gower-Smith knew he should not go on to the top platform of the ladder but did so and, by doing so, increased the likelihood of it overturning.

"Notwithstanding his self-confidence and readiness to trust in his own judgement, I find that his lack of training was responsible for... his lack of awareness of the extent of the danger posed and therefore the accident itself," the judge said.

The damages award will be reduced by 25 per cent to reflect Mr Gower-Smith's contributory negligence.

After the verdict Hampshire County Council said it was sorry but "surprised and disappointed" with the decision.

Councillor David Kirk, Hampshire County Council's member for children's services, said: "While the judge acknowledged training had been given to Mr Gower-Smith he found that there was insufficient emphasis placed on the positioning of the step ladder.

"Hampshire County Council takes health and safety very seriously and last year we were among a number of local authorities who signed up to the Health and Safety Executive's sensible risk campaign."