A SKI lift operator has been spared jail after being found guilty of the involuntary manslaughter of Heathfield youngster Kieran Brookes in the French Alps four years ago.

Kieran, who was just 14 and a brilliant maths student at Torquay Boys’ Grammar School, was strangled when his backpack got caught in a chair lift mechanism in Chatel, near Geneva.

Lift supervisor Richard Cettour was given a suspended six-months jail term after a hearing in eastern France on Tuesday.

Kieran’s parents, both NHS managers, said in a statement afterwards that justice appeared not to have been done. They had ‘mixed emotions’ over the punishment.

Cindy and Nick Brookes said in a statement: ‘This has been an incredibly difficult process and yet we do not feel that justice has been done.’

They added: ‘We are satisfied that someone has been held to account over Kieran’s death. However, we believe that this tragedy highlighted serious industry failings which went further than an individual’s inattention.

‘Without widespread improvements across the industry we think a similar tragedy could happen again. It is only a slight consolation that the resort operator has apologised to us for failings, and admitted moral guilt over Kieran’s death.

‘We would never want Kieran’s death to put people off enjoying activities - being outdoors and playing sports was what Kieran loved. But we hope that the renewed publicity in the case has raised people’s awareness of the risks when enjoying their sports and recreation.’

SAEM Sports et Tourisme a Chatel, the lift’s operator, was also accused of involuntary manslaughter, but was cleared of the charge.

The court heard that Cettour was responsible for the safety of skiers using the lift, but was not at his post at the time of the accident. He had not responded to skiers’ calls for him to press the emergency stop button.

Kieran was suspended in the air for about four minutes before he was released, according to witness accounts from February 2011. Attempts were made to revive him before he was taken to a hospital in Annecy suffering from a severe brain injury.

He was transferred to the intensive care unit at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital where he died the following month.

At an earlier hearing Cettour offered his apologies to Kieran’s parents, who revealed their son had wanted to be a doctor.