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On the 16th September 2003 Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd pleaded guilty to three offences under Petroleum Legislation, and were sentenced to pay a fine of £12,500 and £865.76 in costs.
The case was brought to Hereford Magistrates Court by Herefordshire Council's Trading Standards Service acting as the Petroleum Licensing Authority (PLA) for the County.
Sainsbury's Supermarket Ltd had failed to follow the correct procedure for the redevelopment of their Hereford City petrol filling station at Barton Yard. Sainsbury’s were legally obliged to obtain the PLA written consent to alter the site, which is usually achieved by the vetting of plans and drawings by the Petroleum Officer.
In this case it was not done. In addition Sainsbury's did not follow the correct procedure for their first delivery of petrol, and used an untrained member of staff to supervise it.
Following an in-depth investigation by the Petroleum & Explosives Officer Kerry Clarke, Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd were charged with three separate offences as follows-
Offence 1 - Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928: Failing to obtain written consent to alter the licensed premise: £4,500
Offence 2 - Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road Regulations 1996: Reverting back from a Driver Controlled Delivery (DCD) to Licensee Controlled Delivery (LCD) without at least 1 weeks notice to the PLA: £4,000
Offence 3 - Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road Regulations 1996: Using an incompetent person to take a LCD. £4,000
Head of Environmental Health and Trading Standards Andrew Tector said: “In this instance it appeared that Sainsbury’s placed commercial considerations and time constraints before the health and safety of both its employees and the public. We considered the matter was serious enough to warrant prosecution and achieved a positive outcome. This prosecution demonstrates that breaches of Health & Safety Legislation will not be tolerated.”
Sainsbury Supermarket Prosecution
On the 16th September 2003 Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd pleaded guilty to three offences under Petroleum Legislation, and were sentenced to pay a fine of £12,500 and £865.76 in costs.
The case was brought to Hereford Magistrates Court by Herefordshire Council's Trading Standards Service acting as the Petroleum Licensing Authority (PLA) for the County.
Sainsbury's Supermarket Ltd had failed to follow the correct procedure for the redevelopment of their Hereford City petrol filling station at Barton Yard. Sainsbury’s were legally obliged to obtain the PLA written consent to alter the site, which is usually achieved by the vetting of plans and drawings by the Petroleum Officer.
In this case it was not done. In addition Sainsbury's did not follow the correct procedure for their first delivery of petrol, and used an untrained member of staff to supervise it.
Following an in-depth investigation by the Petroleum & Explosives Officer Kerry Clarke, Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd were charged with three separate offences as follows-
Offence 1 - Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928: Failing to obtain written consent to alter the licensed premise: £4,500
Offence 2 - Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road Regulations 1996: Reverting back from a Driver Controlled Delivery (DCD) to Licensee Controlled Delivery (LCD) without at least 1 weeks notice to the PLA: £4,000
Offence 3 - Carriage of Dangerous Goods by Road Regulations 1996: Using an incompetent person to take a LCD. £4,000
Head of Environmental Health and Trading Standards Andrew Tector said: “In this instance it appeared that Sainsbury’s placed commercial considerations and time constraints before the health and safety of both its employees and the public. We considered the matter was serious enough to warrant prosecution and achieved a positive outcome. This prosecution demonstrates that breaches of Health & Safety Legislation will not be tolerated.”