‘THIS should not have happened’ — that’s the message from Tesco bosses after a boy was electrocuted at their Bracknell North store in 2017.
The supermarket firm was fined a whopping £536,000 after pleading guilty to two health and safety offences following an investigation by the Public Protection Partnership.
FULL STORY: Why Tesco was fined £536,000 for errors which saw a boy electrocuted
The incident occured in July 2017 when a 10-year-old boy reached into a freezer to get an ice lolly but was left burnt and with pain down his right leg and chest having been electrocuted by an exposed electrical supply.
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.
Having been sentenced at Reading Magistrates Court on Tuesday, December 15, Tesco was told to pay up £268,000 for each offence and thousands more in costs.
READ MORE: Tesco Warfield fined £160,000 after out-of-date garlic bread found at store
Following the verdict, Tesco issued a statement to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
A Tesco spokesperson said: “This incident at our store in Bracknell in July 2017 should not have happened – as we acknowledged in court, on this occasion we did not meet our high standards when it comes to health and safety.
“We immediately refreshed colleague training on our health and safety and maintenance escalation procedures at this store after the incident took place.”
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