National food retailer Asda Stores Limited has been ordered
to pay more than £55,000 in fines and costs for committing serious fire-safety
breaches at a store in Berkshire.
Appearing at Reading Crown Court on 6 June, the firm pleaded
guilty to two charges brought under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order
2005. The case had received an earlier hearing in February at Reading
Magistrates’ Court, but was referred to the Crown Court, where a number of
further charges were brought into account.
Royal Berkshire Fire Authority (RBFA) brought the charges
following an inspection of Asda’s store in Cippenham, near Slough, by
fire-safety officers on 24 June 2010. The court heard that the breaches
presented a serious and life-threatening risk, not only to the staff who worked
in the store but also to customers and other members of the public.
Counsel for the prosecution, William Clegg QC, told the
court that the inspection, which was carried out following a complaint,
identified serious breaches to fire-safety regulations, including:
- two fire-exit doors chained and locked shut;
- obstruction of fire-escape routes;
- combustible items obstructing fire-exit doors and escape routes; and
- fire-exit doors wedged open.
The court also heard that the company had previously been
served with a caution in July 2000 for two contraventions relating to other
fire-safety regulations.
No comments:
Post a Comment