Doncaster business fined for selling killer cots to unsuspecting parents

Pictures of unsafe baby cots that could have 'caused strangulation and led to a baby's fingers being cut off' that were seized by Doncaster Council's Trading Standards department. Coun Chris McGuiness is pictured with one of the seized cots.

Tawqeer and Matloob Hussain, trading as Homeflair Mexborough, were found guilty at Doncaster Magistrates’ Court of supplying 30 of the ‘shoddy’ baby cots and possessing 120 more for sale.

All of the dangerous cots sold have now been seized, after a product recall.

When Doncaster Trading Standards investigated, the cots were found to have sharp edges and their bars were too far apart – meaning a child’s head could have fitted through, leaving them at risk of being trapped or strangled.

Coun Chris McGuinness, the council’s cabinet member for environment, said: “Seeing these cots up close shows you just how shoddy and potentially dangerous they are.

“The poor workmanship and quality could easily have led to a strangulation or even a baby losing its fingers.

“Thankfully, the hard work of our trading standards team has helped to prevent such a dreadful accident from occurring.

“We are very pleased with the outcome of the court case, and it is good to see that the court took these safety matters very seriously.”

Coun McGuinness said the council ‘will not tolerate unsafe products being sold in Doncaster’.

“Traders are under an obligation to ensure all the products they sell are safe.

“We advise customers to make sure the goods they are about to buy have passed relevant safety checks before purchasing.”

Homeflair Mexborough bought the poorly made and improperly cots from an overseas manufacturer for just £7.50 per unit and then sold 30 of them to unsuspecting parents for £100 each - making a profit of £92.50 on each one.

Trading Standards officers visited the business following a tip-off from a neighbouring council and immediately suspended the items from sale.

A total recall of the product was then issued, with all of the returned cots seized as evidence.

The court heard the Hussains, who were fined £6,000, failed to carry out any safety testing or evaluation of the cots before putting them on sale.

Anyone with information about any kind of unsafe products is urged to call trading standards on 03454 04 05 06.