Public liability insurance customers have been warned about taking fire safety seriously after a huge fine was handed out to a high-street fashion chain.
New Look was made to pay £400,000 with costs of £136,000 after it was ruled to have breached guidelines when a fire alarm went off at one of its Oxford Street branches.
London's Southwark Crown Court heard how the shop had been packed with early evening shoppers when smoke began pouring from a second storey window.
Although the alarm sounded, it was turned off and customers continued to make purchases unaware of the ongoing fire.
In prosecuting the firm, judge Geoffrey Rivlin QC said that it could have been a "disaster almost too awful to contemplate".
Eventually the premises were evacuated when passersby shouted warnings to staff who then "panicked" and ordered everybody outside. By this time windows were being blown out and smoke was making its way through the building.
Earlier this week, public liability insurance holders in the south were inspected and given advice on how to get their property 'fit for work' by Kent Fire and Rescue Services.