A TOWN centre restaurant has been fined more than £20,000 after a toddler was burned by a lamp.

The two-year-old girl trod on the floorlight in the middle of the patio area at Prezzo barefoot, magistrates heard.

Soon afterwards, the child's grandmother contacted Colchester Council's health and safety department and it investigated the Culver Street East restaurant.

The probe at the popular premises two days later found the light was still in use and recorded a temperature of 200 degrees centigrade - equivalent to a hot iron.

It emerged the light, in use in the restaurant since April 2005, had been fitted with an incorrect bulb.

The officer also noted that no efforts had been made to prevent further use of the light or restrict access to it.

The restaurant admitted two breaches of health and safety regulations at Colchester Magistrates' Court.

It was fined £10,000 for each of two offences under the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974.

One of the charges was in relation to the injured child while the second was that the restaurant had failed to ensure the safety of employees because the faulty light had existed for as long as it had.

But the penalty was reduced from £15,000 for each charge, due to Prezzo's early guilty plea.

It was also ordered to pay a £120 victim surcharge and £1,464.76 in costs - totalling £21,584.76.

Tina Bourne, Colchester councillor responsible for Housing and Public Protection, said: “I am extremely pleased our health and safety officers were able to successfully prosecute this case – though it is deeply regrettable that a toddler was injured before the safety risk to staff and customers was exposed.

“The council does a tremendous job as the health and safety enforcing authority for 2,717 premises in the borough, including offices, shops, restaurants and takeaways. People who use these premises can be reassured that any breaches of health and safety regulations reported to us will be investigated and, where any incident meets the required legal threshold, those found to be in breach of the law will face prosecution in court.”

The toddler was injured on June 15 last year.

A Prezzo spokesman said: “The health and safety of our customers is always Prezzo’s priority.

“We take full responsibility for what happens on our premises, as in this case.

“It appears a bulb had been wrongly fitted and overheated, resulting in an injury to a child’s foot.

“Unfortunately, this had not been identified earlier, and we, therefore, pleaded guilty.

“We believe the judgment was fair and would also like to take this opportunity to apologise for any distress caused to the family.

“Prezzo has robust safety procedures, which include regular checking and maintenance of all appliances and fittings.

“We have, however, made a number of changes and improvements to our procedures as a result of this incident which we believe will ensure such an event cannot happen again.”