A hotel manager who breached fire safety laws and put the lives of his guests in danger has been given a community order and ordered to pay costs of almost £3,000.
Sultan Chaudhry, 55, was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work when he appeared at Manchester Crown Court on Wednesday 11 July. He was convicted of ten offences under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in relation to the White Lodge Hotel, in Great Cheetham Street West, Salford, after he pleaded guilty to the charges at Manchester Magistrates' Court on Wednesday 4 April.
Following a fire at the hotel, Chaudhry told firefighters there was nobody in the property, only for crews to enter and rescue a guest from one of the rooms.
When fire safety officers attended later that day, they were so concerned about the lack of fire safety measures that a prohibition notice was served preventing anyone staying in the hotel.
Officers also discovered that the fire alarms were faulty and had been wired incorrectly, fire extinguishers were empty, escape routes were inadequate, there was no emergency lighting on one escape route and a fire door had been removed