A COMPANY has been fined £15,000 after flouting asbestos regulations.

Asbestos Damage Limitations Ltd, trading as ADL, removed some of the dangerous material from premises in Hove just weeks after being refused a licence to carry out such work.

The company, based in Coleridge Street, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for safety breaches at a hearing held at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on August 28.

The work had been carried out at premises in Dyke Road between October 22 and 25 last year.

The case was brought by the HSE after it investigated a complaint that an unlicensed contractor was carrying out asbestos removal work.

The court was told that ADL had possessed a licence to remove asbestos – a known carcinogen – but that this had expired in September 2013.

The firm had applied for a renewal of the licence and had been for a renewal interview with HSE on October 1.

However this had resulted in a refusal based on “inadequate performance”.

The company was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £4,000 in costs after admitting breaching Regulation 8 (1) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Denis Bodger described non-compliance of asbestos licensing as “not acceptable” and the HSE would continue to enforce the law to protect the public.

He said: “When ADL’s licence expired, the firm should have ceased to carry out any work with asbestos-containing materials that is required by licence.

“ADL was fully aware of what types of activities are covered and knew perfectly well that it was illegal to undertake the work they did.

“Work with asbestos requires a high degree of regulatory control.

“Non-compliance with asbestos-licensing requirements is not acceptable and HSE will continue to enforce the law to protect both workers and members of the public.”

Asbestos was once used regularly by the construction industry because of its fire-resistant qualities but has since been discovered to be a cause of cancer.