A film production company has been fined £1.6 million for health and safety breaches after Harrison Ford was crushed by a hydraulic door on the set of the Millennium Falcon spaceship while filming a Star Wars movie.

Foodles Production (UK) Ltd was handed the penalty at Aylesbury Crown Court on Wednesday after the Disney-owned company admitted two breaches of health and safety law following the incident, in which Ford was knocked to the ground and pinned down by the steel door.

The Hollywood superstar was reprising his role as Han Solo in Star Wars: The Force Awakens at Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire in June 2014 when he was hit by the door, which had been designed to mimic the action of a door on the original set.

At a previous hearing, the court was told he could have been killed in the incident.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said the power of the rapidly closing door meant Ford was hit with a force comparable to the weight of a small car.

Judge Francis Sheridan said the firm had failed to communicate its risk assessment to Ford, who was 71 at the time.

He said: “The greatest failing of all on behalf of the company is a lack of communication, a lack because, if you have a risk assessment and you do not communicate it, what is the point of having one?

“That is the most serious breach here. If only they had included Mr Ford in all the discussions, he might have at least been alert to the dangers that he had to avoid.”