Children's play centre prosecuted by Bristol team for serious offences

Release Date:  20-Nov-2008

Bristol City Council’s latest environmental health prosecution resulted in Mrs Janet Walters, Director of ABC Zoo Ltd, t/a Alphabet Zoo, Bristol - a children’s indoor play centre - being found guilty of multiple serious safety and food safety offences, and banned from managing any food business in the future.

Pleading guilty on Friday 14th November to five serious safety offences and eight serious food safety offences, Mrs Janet Walters was given a conditional discharge for two years and ordered to contribute £1000 towards the council’s costs. The imposition of a Hygiene Prohibition Order on Mrs Walters, which prevents her from participating in the management of any food business in the future, is extremely rare and indicates how serious the breaches of food hygiene were.

The penalties took into account the facts that the premises have now closed, and Mrs Walters is on a limited income and in poor health.

Bristol City Council’s Environmental Health team was initially alerted to problems at the venue in April 2007 when two members of the public contacted them with concerns over poor safety and hygiene standards. When Mrs Walters failed to respond to suggestions made by council officers’ at a subsequent inspection three Improvement Notices were served requiring proper maintenance of the play equipment, remedy of electrical defects and adequate control of slip and trip hazards by 20th May 2007.

Following a complaint about an accident involving a child who bruised and grazed his face, another about hygiene and safety standards, and the expiry of the Improvement Notices, further visits were made.

The team noted that standards remained very poor, with serious hazards failing to be addressed. Concerned about significant risks to the public, including locked and blocked fire exits, inadequate staff, and damaged equipment, the team employed a safety consultant specialising in play equipment to survey the centre. The consultant’s report contained practical recommendations about how the owner could improve the centre, and noted many serious hazards to children including:

· uncontrolled use of the free-fall slide

· risks of falls from heights

· exposed wood and metal elements of the play equipment due to damaged padding and vinyl covers

· areas which should only be accessible to staff for maintenance and cleaning were open to children

· lack of monitoring of the children’s behaviour

The report concluded ‘This is without doubt the dirtiest indoor play facility that I have seen in recent years’.

Whilst waiting for the matter to be heard at Court, a further three customer complaints were received all relating to poor health and safety standards.

Environmental Health Officers visited the premises in January 2008 for the purposes of a food hygiene inspection. They found a serious mouse infestation throughout the premises including the main kitchen, Café servery and children’s party and play areas. Mouse droppings were found on and around children’s play equipment in the toddler play area, and many droppings, dirt and debris behind a fridge freezer in the kitchenette serving the children’s party area. There was a rotting sack of refuse, with gnaw marks from rodents on the outside. A decomposing dead mouse was found lodged behind a fridge freezer unit. No hot water was available at wash hand basins within the premises.

Due to an imminent risk of injury to health, a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition Notice was served to close the business immediately, until sufficient work had been carried out to remove the imminent risk of illness to customers.

In court, two of the offences for which the defendant was prosecuted came under S3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act:

· Failure to ensure that adequate arrangements were made for the maintenance of the play equipment, electrical fittings or the premises as a whole and to ensure that children using the play equipment were adequately monitored by staff; and

· Failure to ensure that adequate arrangements were made to control mice resulting in the presence of mouse droppings around the children's play equipment in the toddler area of the premises;

Other offences for which she was also prosecuted included failure to comply with three Improvement Notices relating to slips and trips, maintenance of the electrical equipment, and inspection and maintenance of the play equipment.

Environmental Health Officer Heather Clarke said: “This business was given plenty of opportunity to comply with safety and hygiene legislation. Unfortunately this did not happen and the safety of young children was put at risk. Bristol City Council had no choice but to prosecute.”

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