West Berkshire Magistrates' Court has fined retailer, Lidl GmbH, £3,185 including costs for breaching s.3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 for failures at its Newbury store in February 2005.
Council officials visited the store twice within one week and discovered emergency exits obstructed, a situation directly attributable to a failure to implement an adequate system of fire safety management.

"We are satisfied that the judgement is fair given the serious nature of the offence. Obstruction of emergency exits puts both staff and store customers at risk. We hope that this outcome will provide reassurance to traders who comply with the proper safety measures and send out a severe warning to those who are not." Environmental Health Manager at West Berkshire Council