Director and company convicted of toy safety offences
February 25, 2019
A company director of a toy importer has been convicted along with the company itself after a trial alleging offences under the Toy Safety Regulations and the REACH Regulations. The company and the director were fined after the trial in a prosecution brought by the London Borough of Enfield at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court.
Stuart Jessop from Six Pump Court represented the prosecution.
The case concerned the failure of the company to produce a full technical file as required by the regulations on toys it was importing from China, when required to do so by trading standards officers, and to the placing of such toys on the market. The purpose of the regulations is to enable the regulator to check and ensure the safety of toys imported into the UK. The toys subject to the charges were all intended for young children.
In addition, both defendants were also found guilty of placing a toy, which had a dangerous level of phthalates within it, on the market, contrary to the REACH Regulations. The District Judge also found that the company, and the director by his consent, has provided a false document in an attempt to purport to comply with the provisions of the regulations.
