A refurbishment company has been fined after workers and the public were exposed to asbestos in a Leicestershire village.

Shengxuan Company Ltd was converting a shop in Borough Street, Castle Donington, into a restaurant in June 2010.

Part of the work involved converting an integral garage into a storeroom but in doing so, workers disturbed asbestos-containing materials. This was then put in a skip by the workers, who were unaware of its presence or its risks.

A member of the public with experience in the asbestos industry walked past the site, saw what was in the skip and reported it to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Other debris was also seen on the floor between the skip and the garage.

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The HSE's subsequent investigation found the firm had not made its workers aware of the dangers of asbestos and had not given them any training in how to recognise or deal with it. A prohibition notice was served, stopping all work until the problem was rectified.

HSE Inspector Sam Russell said: "The company had a duty to protect its employees and the public from exposure to asbestos, yet failed in that duty.

"Before starting work the company should have carried out a survey to ascertain if asbestos was present and then arranged for it to be removed safely by a licensed company. By failing to do that, they put people's health at risk by contaminating a public area with asbestos.

"The latest health and safety statistics show that more people are dying as a result of asbestos related diseases than are killed in accidents at work. This situation will not change unless organisations take their duty to manage asbestos seriously."

Shengxuan Company Ltd, of Pendeford, Wolverhampton, pleaded guilty to breaching Control of Asbestos Regulations and was fined £4,000 by Loughborough magistrates. The company was also ordered to pay full costs of £2,100.

(BMcN/GK)