A former hotelier is behind bars after admitting that his establishment lacked adequate emergency lighting and other fire safety equipment.

Amandeep Sandhu was jailed for eight months for five breaches of fire safety laws at the Cutlers Hotel in Sheffield city centre, a business he no longer owns.

Sandhu was prosecuted by South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue following fire safety inspections in which inspectors found that the hotel at that time did not have adequate emergency lighting, fire detectors or alarms.

The 45-bed hotel was ordered to be closed whilst safety improvements were to be made after a a fire alarm was found not to be working however an inspection three days later uncovered further breaches.

Sandhu had also failed to carry out a proper fire risk assessment and failed to arrange suitable training for the hotel’s employees.

Steve Helps of the South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, told local newspaper The Star: "We always try to work positively with businesses to comply with fire safety regulation, but this case is a stark reminder of the consequences of failing to comply with those laws. Had a fire broken out in these premises then there can be little doubt that lives would have been lost. The sentence handed down by the judge should serve as a warning to any business of how seriously breaches of fire safety law are taken."

The hotel has since been taken over by the Saxon Hotels group, which has completed refurbished the building and installed all the necessary emergency lighting and fire safety equipment. The hotel now has full fire safety approval. 

In a statement, a spokeswoman for Saxon Hotels said: "We would like to point out that Saxon Hotels has no connection at all to the previous owner. Saxon Hotels takes guest safety seriously and after the purchase we undertook an extensive refurbishment and upgrading of the historic city centre hotel which included all aspects of fire and safety systems. 

‘We received full approval from the fire services and all other regulatory authorities in order to operate the renovated hotel and we re-opened in September 2015. We are proud to have restored this historic city centre hotel to its former glory and to be welcoming guests from across the world to stay with us and enjoy the city of Sheffield."

We can advise on emergency lighting placement and provide suitable fittings that comply with regulations. For more information, please call us on 01256 844028.