Prosecutions

The owners of a North Yorkshire bed and breakfast have been fined £1,000 after a guest was hospitalised by an electric shock from a set of faulty lamps.

On 21 May 2009 a guest heard a loud crash from his bedroom the B&B. He discovered his wife convulsing on the floor clutching two metal lamps.

The guest managed to remove one of the lamps from her hands and called for help. She was treated at hospital for minor burns and discharged the same day.

A Scarborough Borough Council Environmental Health Officer conducted an investigation after the victims reported the incident. He found that the lamps, bought from a car boot sale, had been incorrectly wired. The wiring in the plugs was also loose and the chord grips had been damaged.

The husband and wife owners of the B&B pleaded guilty to a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 at York magistrates court on 11 October. They were fined £500 each and ordered to pay a further £250 each in costs and a £15 victim surcharge.
The head of the council’s environmental health service, said: ‘The victim was extremely fortunate not to have sustained more serious injuries and the incident could quite easily have proved fatal.

‘Although the council accepts the owners were extremely remorseful about the incident, it was serious enough to warrant prosecution and this should act as a warning to other businesses to ensure that electrical goods are checked regularly and bought from a reputable source.’

A quarter of all reportable electrical accidents involve portable appliances.