A CHESTER city centre hair salon ordered to pay over £7,000 for serious fire safety breaches has yet to pay a penny of the costs.

At Chester Magistrates Court on Thursday, May 13, a summons for enforcement of payment was made in respect of Trinette Hair Professionals Chester.

The order, made as part of what is known as 'fines alignment', gives the court the power to issue a 'warrant of control'.

That legal document means, in practice, enforcement agents – or bailiffs – can be sent out to take control of possessions in order to ensure the person or business affected pays their debts.

Back on February 1, Mehmet Zahir Adibelli, owner of Trinettes Hair Professionals (Chester), appeared at Warrington Magistrates Court, after previously pleading guilty to nine breaches of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

At the sentencing hearing, District Judge Nicholas Sanders said Adibelli "had failed to set their mind towards fire safety and didn’t appreciate that these significant risks could have resulted in serious injuries or death."

Judge Sanders ordered Adibelli to pay £2,250 fines (£250 for each breach), £5,000 costs and a £190 victim surcharge – totalling £7,440.

According to Chester Magistrates Court documents for May 13, the amount outstanding remained £7,440. Adibelli was not present in court to contest the summons.

The investigation into the business began after firefighters were called out to a water leak at the Bridge Street Coffee shop below the hair salon on Wednesday, June 19, 2019.

While in attendance, firefighters needed to access the salon to investigate the source of the leak.

After entering the two-storey salon on Chester Rows in Bridge Street, crews discovered that it was being used as sleeping accommodation.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service’s Protection team was informed and a fire safety inspection was subsequently conducted at the site.

During the inspection the team found a number of serious fire safety deficiencies, which were putting the lives of customers and staff at risk.

These included the absence of fire detectors throughout the premises.

The team also found that the fire extinguishers in the salon had not been serviced since 2012 and no fire risk assessments had been conducted at the premises to place to help reduce the chances of a fire occurring.