Peter John Morrell, who has recently changed his name to Peter Michael Coltilda, has been handed an 18-week suspended prison sentence, after ignoring a Health and Safety Executive prohibition notice that barred him from issuing safety certificates for inflatable amusements. In addition to his suspended sentence, Mr Morrell was ordered to complete 60 hours of unpaid community service and pay costs of £500 at Shrewsbury Crown Court. Mr Morrell pleaded guilty to breaching Section 33(1)(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, which states: "It is an offence for a person… to contravene any requirement or prohibition imposed by an improvement notice or a prohibition notice (including any such notice as modified on appeal)." The prohibition notice was served on Mr Morrell in November 2008 after inspectors discovered that he had been issuing false or unreliable safety certificates.
Personal injury claims involving inflatable amusements are more common than most people might assume. In the US, accident claims soared in 2006 when the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission announced that around 3,500 people, most of whom were young children, had been admitted to hospital for emergency treatment for injuries sustained on inflatable amusements. Blow-overs and collapses due to inadequate set-up or equipment failure were cited as the most common causes of accidents on inflatable amusements. With these facts in mind, it's clear to any person of sound mind and intelligence, that Mr Morrell acted unconscionably in continuing to issue safety certificates without any idea of what he was doing wrong.
The Health and Safety Executive served a prohibition notice on Mr Morrell when it emerged that inflatable amusements had been incorrectly passed as safe. Ignoring the prohibition notice, Mr Morrell continued to accept payments for inspecting and issuing safety certificates for inflatable amusements. In December 2008, Mr Morrell breached the order when he inspected an inflatable amusement at Wellington & Civic Centre in Telford. Inspectors later discovered a safety defect on the inflatable's blower. Mr Morrell even attempted to inspect the faulty inflatable device again six months later but was denied entry by the centre. It is fortunate – perhaps even miraculous – to note that no children were harmed by Mr Morrell's negligent actions. Speaking after the court hearing, Janice Dale said: "By continuing to take money for issuing safety certificates, Mr Morrell not only cheated the companies he issued the certificates for, but also risked the well-being of the young children using the inflatable and its blower. The reason that an initial prohibition notice was put in place was that his work was substandard and unsafe."
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