An indoor karting track has been heavily fined after a marshal and several children using the facility were overcome with carbon monoxide fumes.
Magistrates at Gateshead Magistrates Court found Formula 1 Karting Ltd.guilty of three health and safety offences and fined them £12,000 for each offence, plus £5,047 costs - a total of £41,047.
The prosecution was brought by Gateshead Council after a parent complained that children at a party organised to celebrate her son's birthday had been overcome by exhaust fumes at the company's premises in Forge Road, Gateshead.
A spectator also noticed that one of the marshals appeared to be suffering from symptoms usually associated with carbon monoxide poisoning.
Gateshead Council carried out an immediate investigation into the premises and discovered that exhaust fumes from the karts, which includes carbon monoxide, had reached dangerous levels within the building.
The company had been relying on opening fire doors to ventilate the building and remove the exhaust gases and no routine monitoring was being carried out to identify whether or not safe levels were exceeded.
Gateshead Council immediately served a Prohibition Notice which prohibited the use of the karts until improvements were made.
The company was prosecuted under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002.
Paul Dowling, head of Regulatory Services for Gateshead Council, says: "This company appeared to be taking an extremely cavalier approach to the health of their customers and staff."
"Operating petrol engines in a confined space without proper ventilation and air monitoring is extremely reckless. We were very surprised and appalled by the levels of carbon monoxide we discovered at the company's premises - it was so serious we felt we had had no alternative but to shut them down immediately.
"Hopefully, this substantial fine will send a clear message to other indoor karting operators that they must take their responsibilities, both to their customers and to their staff, much more seriously."
He added: "This seems to be a national problem, with poorly-controlled indoor karting centres failing to properly control carbon monoxide emissions in non-purpose built warehouses. Failure to control such emissions in confined places can have very serious consequences, including death, and needs to be addressed."
The company has since improved ventilation at their premises, fitted catalytic converters to the karts, initiated monitoring of exhaust fume and background CO levels, and now ensure that engines are well tuned.
