pounds 37,500 fines for the collapse of a seating stand during Pink Floyd concert

A judge at Knightsbridge Crown Court in London yesterday imposed fines totalling pounds 37,500 following the collapse of a seating stand during a Pink Floyd concert at Earls Court exhibition centre, in which 40 people were injured. About 14,000 fans were at the concert in October 1994, when the stand, holding more than 1,000, collapsed as the show began.

The venue's owner, Earls Court Ltd was fined pounds 12,000, the chartered engineer, David McCallum, was fined pounds 18,000 and Jonathan Smith, a former director of the seating contractor, Arena Promotional Facilities, fined pounds 7,500 after all admitted breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act. They were also each ordered to pay pounds 5,000 prosecution costs. Judge Timothy Pontius said: "This was an accident waiting to happen."