Punch: huge strides after fire fine

Punch says it has taken "huge strides" in its approach to health and safety after pleading guilty to serious breaches of fire safety legislation at a London pub.

Punch has been ordered to pay £17,000 in fines and costs after fire inspectors found serious faults at the Barley Mow on Duke Street, a managed pub.

Inspectors found the distance between the fourth floor, being used for residential purposes, and the fire exit was too great. The same risk had been identified in 2003 but had been ignored.

Despite being ordered to use the fourth floor purely for storage until the issue was sorted, inspectors found that on 15 October 2007, it was being used for living quarters.

The escape route was also partially blocked by combustible items on the third floor.

Assistant commissioner for fire safety regulation Steve Turek said: "It is important all premises owners and operators have a fire risk assessment and even more importantly act upon its findings in a timely manner.

"The prohibition notice in this case was served to ensure the safety of people using the premises. Notices must be taken very seriously and followed explicitly."

A spokeswoman for Punch said: "We take the safety of our employees and guests extremely seriously and would like to stress that this was an isolated incident that took place two years ago.

"Since then, we have made huge strides forward in our approach to health and safety. Through our Operational Excellence programme and the launch of the Be Safe, Be Legal, Be Compliant guideline we have strengthened our internal processes resulting in a dramatic decrease in the number of enforcement notices."