Bosses of a Manchester shisha bar which posed such a risk to the public it had to be demolished have been sent down for their ‘blatant disregard for fire safety’.
In one of the ‘most complex fire safety prosecutions in the UK’, six defendants from The Oasis Lounge on Great Jackson Street in Hulme were yesterday sentenced at a hearing at Manchester Crown Court.
The building flouted fire safety regulations, including having diesel and combustible bin liners and boxes placed near the fire exit – which didn’t open properly – and the fire alarm not being switched on.
Ignoring a Prohibition Notice from the fire service ordering the business to be closed until the problems were resolved, the shisha lounge continued to trade for more than a month until the marquee was dismantled by the council.
Sentencing the six defendants, His Honour Judge Michael Leeming, said: “Those people who invested money in this enterprise put profit before the safety of the paying public.
