05 January 2007

A hotel has been fined £14,000 after a commis chief slipped and burnt his arm in a deep fat fryer. Daniel Ashton sustained full thickness burns to his arm and hot oil was splashed on to his face at the Mottram Hall Hotel in Mottram, Cheshire.

Macclesfield Borough Council EHOs investigated and found pools of water throughout the kitchen, including the preparation area where Mr Ashton was working before the accident. Staff told the officers that that the water had been present ?on and off for four years?.

Macclesfield magistrates court heard that the hotel, owned by De Vere Hotels and Leisure, failed to undertake suitable risk assessments and to provide a safe system of work. The firm pleaded guilty to breaching health and safety regulations. The magistrates fined it £12,000 under the health and safety at work act and £2,000 under the management of health and safety at work regulations. The court also awarded the council £2,002 in costs.

The magistrates acknowledged the hotel had taken some steps to improve the situation but said there were pools of water in the kitchen for at least seven months before the accident. De Vere Hotels described Mr Ashton as a ?valued member of staff? and said it regretted the incident.

?It is the first breach of health and safety at Mottram Hall and the company believes it was a oneoff accident that does not reflect the commitment that De Vere has to health and safety. De Vere Hotels and Mottram Hall in particular continues to invest in safety and work closely with environmental health officers to ensure best practice is met,? said a spokesperson. The hotel has since been acquired by Alternative Hotel Groups.

© 2007 Chartered Institute of Environmental Health