Firm to fight asbestos fine

LCH Contracts, which was recently fined £70,000 for exposing employees to asbestos is to appeal part of the penalty, it has been reported.

Managing director of the company, Lee Hipgrave, told the Echo he ploughed nearly £100,000 of his own money into defending the company and claims it did everything to prevent the workforce being at risk from inhalation.

According to Mr Hipgrave, his employees secured the harmful substance but another person came into the building and interfered with the bags.

"We bagged the asbestos, covered it up and left it on a single floor of the building. Over the weekend, someone else came in and moved the bags, so some of them split," he told the news provider.

As a result, the inspection that followed on the Monday discovered bags of asbestos that posed a risk to the health of anybody near to them, Mr Hipgrave added.

He said the firm will launch an appeal against some of the fine imposed by the courts.

According to the Health and Safety Executive, asbestos is the single biggest cause of work-related deaths in the UK