Andrew Bird was prosecuting counsel, instructed by the London Borough of Havering. The offence related to a 12 year old child who was riding up on the outside of an escalator in a Romford shopping centre and fell from a height of some 8 metres, suffering serious injuries. The District Judge held that Savills did owe a duty under s.4 of the Act even in circumstances where the risk occurred due to a misuse of the escalator, in the light of his findings, contested by Savills, that the risk was both foreseeable and in fact foreseen.
Savills (Commercial) Limited were fined £20,000, ordered to pay £40,191 prosecution costs, and ordered to install a suitable anti-climb device to the escalator within 28 days.
