The owner of a takeaway shop has had to pay almost £12,000 in fines after pleading guilty to five breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

Iskender Anik, owner of the Istanbul Grill in Eastleigh, appeared at Southampton magistrates court on 1 September, where he pleaded guilty to breaching a prohibition order by allowing sleeping in accommodation above the shop. He also pleaded guilty to having no adequate means of giving warning in case of fire, inadequate protection to means of escape, inadequate provision of emergency lighting and failure to maintain fire resisting separation between the ground floor and first floor.

He was fined £3,300 for breaching the prohibition order and £2,100 for each of the remaining four offences.

Area manager Mick Crennell of Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said:

“We will continue to protect our communities through a robust risk management process that identifies the areas of highest risk and takes necessary steps to ensure their continued safety.

“Prohibition orders are only issued in the most severe circumstances, to prevent a risk of death or serious injury in the event of a fire; breaching these orders can have very serious consequences.”