Norfolk: Poundland Fined £3,500

27 November 2011, 09:28 | Updated: 27 November 2011, 09:46

Poundland Limited has pleaded guilty to selling unsafe fishing catapults in Norfolk stores and which were also on sale nationally and was fined £3,500 and costs of £2107.

The case against Poundland was brought by Norfolk County Council Trading Standards service as a result of a consumer complaint about the item.

This case follows an identical case that Norfolk County Council Trading Standards brought against Poundland in November last year - which resulted in the company being fined a total of £4000 and costs of £878.

The previous case, heard in November 2010, was as a result of a Norfolk consumer raising his concerns about the safety of a Poundland fishing catapult with Norfolk County Council Trading Standards service.

The item was designed for fishermen to catapult bait into an area where fishing is to take place.

The consumer raised concerns because the elastic detached from one of the catapult arms, striking him in the chest and causing a minor injury.

Today's case was brought by Norfolk County Council Trading Standards after the same consumer found an identical catapult on sale in the Great Yarmouth store in February (2011) and brought this to the attention of Norfolk County Council Trading Standards.

Norfolk County Council Trading Standards Officers again made test purchases of the catapults and submitted these for laboratory examination.

The examination again found the catapults could pose a moderate to significant danger to fishermen using them.

After the November 2010 prosecution, the company should have stopped selling the product.