Manchester kids’ clothes shop fined £10k for ‘dangerous’ products

A children’s clothing shop has been fined £10,000 for selling potentially dangerous garments.

Manchester City Council said Jack & Jill Limited, convicted on Thursday of five offences at the city’s magistrates’ court, had earlier ignored its orders to remove non-compliant items from sale.

The hearing was told that more than 500 dresses were seized from the shop in Broughton Street, Manchester, by council officers in June 2024.

Director Rakhmat Ali, 50, of Greenhill Road, Manchester, claimed his company had not intended to break the law but he accepted it should have followed the council’s orders.

Jack & Jill Limited was first ordered to remove certain items from sale in December 2023 after trading standards officers suspected they did not meet the required safety standards.

Despite a second visit in March 2024, the business continued to ignore the orders, leading to a significant haul of dangerous items being taken away three months later.

Samples were sent for testing and were ruled to be unsafe due to the length of sashes and ribbons attached to garments.

Cords, drawstrings or ribbons which are too long have the potential to cause serious harm to a child if they become caught or tangled in playground equipment, automatic doors, escalators or other moving objects.

Jack & Jill Limited claimed it had purchased the clothing from a reputable supplier and maintained it had not intended to break the law.

But the company pleaded guilty to five offences under the General Products and Safety Regulations 2005.

It was fined £10,000 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £2,000 and costs of £2,745.

Mr Ali was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £600.

The seized items of clothing will be destroyed and recycled.

Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon said: “When we purchase anything for a child we have to put our faith in the retailer that it is safe and will not cause them any harm.

“However in this case standards were clearly disregarded and, despite several warnings from the council, no action was taken.

“We take issues around safety incredibly seriously and we want this to send a message that we will not allow traders to continue flouting the law and putting children at risk.”