Motorsport firm hit with £62k fine after 17 fans 'poisoned'

Director pleaded guilty to five charges following event

- Hayley Parker

A MOTORSPORT organiser has been hit with a fine of almost £62,000 after 17 fans were hospitalised due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

The Motorsport With Attitude indoor live action car event at Staffordshire County Showground had to be cut short after the fumes made many attending feel unwell.

The main arena was evacuated in February last year with Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service and Staffordshire Police sent to the scene in Weston Road.

High levels of carbon monoxide were recorded with 17 people requiring hospital treatment.

Sentencing Motorsport with Attitude Limited (MWA) at Cannock Magistrates Court, Judge Kevin Grego said the company had been either 'cavalier' in its approach to safety or 'naïve in the extreme.

Lucy Taylor-Grime, prosecuting for Stafford Borough Council, said MWA had a duty to inform the local authority prior to the car show taking place - but the first they heard about it was when the emergency services called them that afternoon.