Heavy fines for companies that caused serious escalator accident in Welwyn Garden City’s Howard Centre

Two companies whose blundering mix-up in Welwyn Garden City left a young woman permanently injured have been ordered to pay substantial fines.

Multinational Otis Ltd was fined £240,000 at St Albans Crown Court, and its much smaller sub-contractor Complete Escalator Services (CES) was fined £13,000.

A mix-up between two pairs of workmen in the Howard Centre caused a 24-year-old to fall through an escalator, crushing one leg.

Otis was ordered to pay costs of £30,202 to Welwyn Hatfield Council, which investigated the accident in October 2013, while CES must pay £11,332 to the authority.

For a full report, see next week’s Welwyn Hatfield Times, in shops from Wednesday.