TESCO has been fined more than half-a-million pounds after a ten-year-old child got electrocuted at the retailer’s Bracknell North superstore.

The supermarket giant will have to pay £536,000 after pleading guilty to two health and safety offences related to an incident in July 2017 at their store on County Lane in Warfield.

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After reaching into a freezer to get an ice lolly, the child started screaming and crying having been electrocuted by the unit.

He suffered a small minor burn, pain down his right leg, chest pain and was shaken.

This came after staff failed to fix an issue with the electrical supply to the glass heating element under the handrail at the front of the freezer.

The Public Protection Partnership, the investigating body, said the supply had become damaged and exposed, leaving a severed live wire sticking out under the rub rail.

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Subsequent reviews of records showed the freezer’s rail was known to be loose and had temporary fixes of glue or tape some months prior to the accident.

Cllr John Harrison, Public Protection boss at Bracknell Forest Council, said: “This investigation which followed an incident where a child was electrocuted in the store revealed significant breaches of health and safety legislation and this is clearly reflected in the sentencing.

“The council will always follow up concerns about health and safety matters in premises where it is responsible for enforcement and if anyone has concerns they should contact our environmental health team.”

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Tesco was prosecuted following an investigation by officers from the council’s Public Protection Service supported by the Public Protection Partnership Joint Case Management Unit.

The supermarket giant was sentenced at Reading Magistrates Court on Tuesday, 15 December 2020 after pleading guilty to two health and safety offences and fined £268,000 for each offence.

Tesco was also ordered to pay a victim’s surcharge of £170 and costs of £25,750.91.

IN FULL: Read Tesco's statement after supermarket fined for electrocuting boy

In response to the sentencing, a Tesco spokesperson said: "This incident at our store in Bracknell in July 2017 should not have happened..."