Two landlords have been jailed and ordered to pay almost £9,000 after renting out flats that fire service investigators described as ‘death traps’.
Israr Fazal, 55, – also known as Ihsan Perveen, and his son Shahbaz Fazal, 31, also known as Mohammed Shahbaz Khan – received three months imprisonment after pleading guilty at the earlier hearing to six offences. They were also ordered to pay £8,975 costs.
Prosecuting for Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, Joseph Hart, said there was a systematic failure to carry out a suitable and sufficient fire risk assessment, failure to ensure escape routes could be used quickly and as safely as possible and failure to co-operate with officers carrying out their lawful duty.
Speaking after the sentencing, Peter O'Reilly, director of prevention and protection at the service, said: "There was no means of raising the alarm if a fire started in these properties and, even if someone had been alerted to a fire early on, their escape route would have been blocked by refuse and discarded furniture". "It is a fair comment to use the term 'death-trap' in relation to the upkeep of these premises".