Poundstretcher fined £55,000 over fire escapes

National discount chain Poundstretcher Limited has been fined £51,500 and ordered to pay £3,450 costs at Leeds crown court for seven offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

The offences at Poundstretcher’s Castleford store in West Yorkshire included a failure to take adequate fire precautions for its employees and other relevant people, a failure to review its fire risk assessment, emergency routes and exits blocked, and inadequate staff training.

Only one out of six fire exits could be used in a busy bargain store, Leeds Crown Court was told.

And the consequences of a fire at Poundstretcher in Castleford could have been “frankly appalling,” said Judge Jonathan Rose.

Judge Rose said he had taken into account the fact that the company had not made a profit since 2005. But this did not absolve them of the duty to meet fire safety regulations.

He pointed out that the business had twice been prosecuted last year for similar breaches at its Halifax and Wakefield stores and had been fined a total of £20,500 for those offences.

The firm had previously pleaded guilty to the charges at Pontefract magistrates court.

Craig McIntosh, West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service’s director of fire safety, said the prosecution followed breaches of fire safety legislation at other Poundstretcher locations.

“This is the third time a prosecution has been brought in West Yorkshire,” he said. “The severity of the fines imposed by the court show that companies cannot continue to treat public and staff safety with contempt. The fines are intended to make Poundstretcher take its obligations seriously in the future.”

In July 2009 Poundstretcher was fined £12,000 and ordered to pay £2,460 costs at Halifax magistrates court. And in October last year the company was fined £8,500 and ordered to pay £2,461 costs at Wakefield magistrates court.