Islington Council is warning owners of second-hand shops to ensure that the goods they sell are safe following the recent prosecution of a local shop owner who was caught selling dangerous electrical goods.<br><br>On 23 August 2005, Highbury Corner Magistrates’ Court heard that in early 2004, trading standards officers visited the ‘Stepping Out’ shop in Seven Sisters Road. Advice was given to shop staff on the electrical safety of items being sold from the shop.<br><br>Later in December 2004,an undercover officer from the team purchased four items that included a drill, a hairdryer, an iron and an old wireless. All the items were sent for testing and found to have serious faults that could have proved disastrous for anyone using them. <br><br>Experts discovered:<br><br>· the drill had unsafe joins, an illegal plug, the wrong coloured insulation and was liable to overheat<br>· the hairdryer element was not supported and could have ruptured causing burns to the hair or skin<br>· the iron could not be earthed and presented a risk of electrocution. It also had live parts exposed and contained asbestos under the terminals<br>· the old style wireless had poor transformer insulation that meant it had inadequate prevention against electric shock and would have been a danger to anyone using it <br><br>The owner of the business, Joanne Howard of Enfield, Middlesex pleaded guilty to the six charges brought under the Consumer Protection Act 1987 and was fined a total of £1200 and ordered to pay costs of £1099.<br><br>Cllr George Allan, Islington’s executive member for public protection, said: <br><br>“The Council provides businesses with vital information on the law governing sales - it's for their protection as much as the public's.<br><br>So it's very worrying when they do not follow the advice we give them.<br><br>Consumers have the right to expect their purchases - even second-hand electrical goods - to be safe to use. In this case they weren't and we were right to prosecute to uphold the law and protect public safety."<br><br>ENDS
Page Last Updated: 17 December 2009