Former business owner in Watlington fined for a series of fire safety breaches

The former owner of an Indian restaurant in Watlington has been sentenced to a six-month custodial sentence, suspended for 18 months, a £1,700 fine and ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work for breaches of fire safety legislation that put lives in danger. Sentencing took place at Oxford Crown Court on Monday 15 September 2025, following conviction at Oxford Magistrates Court earlier this year (Thursday 24 July 2025).

Fire safety inspectors from Oxfordshire County Council’s fire and rescue service visited the premises in March 2024. They found that the business owner, Mr Khalique Choudhury, had failed to ensure there was an adequate risk assessment of fire, failed to protect escape routes in case of fire, and failed to provide a working fire alarm and detection system.

The restaurant was operating on the ground floor and had bedrooms provided for staff accommodation above on the first floor.

A fire safety audit was conducted under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, and inspectors found that the premises were so dangerous that they were left with no alternative but to prohibit the use of the building for sleeping until safety measures were improved.

As, a consequence, they ordered the immediate removal of the occupants of the bedrooms on safety grounds by use of a prohibition notice, so that it could not to be used for sleeping.

An investigation resulted in Mr Choudhury appearing in court where the former business owner pleaded guilty to four charges under the fire safety legislation and fine for those charges. He was also ordered to pay a total of £6,284 in costs.

Councillor Jenny Hannaby, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Services and Safety, said: “The vast majority of Oxfordshire businesses operate to the highest standards, rightly protecting their customers, staff and their livelihoods. I’m very grateful to the officers in this case, who are out there every day not only to protect the public, but to also ensure that those businesses following the rules can compete on a level playing field.”

Jody Kerman, Head of Oxfordshire County Council’s Prevention, Protection and Trading Standards teams, said: “Our fire safety inspectors are finding an increasing number of businesses with sleeping accommodation above, where no fire safety measures have been implemented. Business owners have a legal duty to put fire safety measures in place, and as this case shows, we will not hesitate to take action to ensure the safety of occupants, residents and customers.”

Issuing of a prohibition notice restricts the use of any premises providing accommodation that does not meet the accepted standards of fire safety. Responsible persons – business owners or employers – must accept that they have a duty of care to ensure the accommodation they provide is safe and suitable.

Any businessperson or employee can seek fire safety advice by emailing [email protected].

Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service’s vision is to work every day to save and improve the lives of people across the county.

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