An arson attack at a Bushey restaurant landed the owner and an employee in the dock with fines totalling £12,000 for breaking fire safety regulations.

Kamruz Zaman and employee Adiel Choudhury were convicted on Thursday following a burglary at the Red Ginger restaurant on July 9 last year.

Fire investigators prosecuted the pair after a gang broke into the Kemp Place premises and stole a small amount of cash before setting fire to the dining room.

At the time, firefighters said one employee who was sleeping on the first floor was lucky to escape with his life.

After being woken by the smell of smoke which engulfed the premises, he managed to climb through a window and slide down the roof before dropping to the ground.

Subsequent investigations established that the fire alarm system was not working and numerous beds and mattresses were found on the first floor of the building.

No-one has been arrested for the arson attack to date but Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service prosecuted Zaman and Choudhury for seven and eight breaches of fire safety law respectively.

Both pleaded guilty to the charges leading to a £5,750 fine for Zaman and a £6,000 penalty for Choudhury at Stevenage Magistrates’ Court.

Full costs of £9,161 plus victim surcharges were awarded, resulting in a total fine of £20,941.

Hertfordshire’s chief fire officer Roy Wilsher said: “Where breaches of fire legislation are considered so serious that there is a risk of death or serious injury to persons we will consider prosecution.

"In this case members of the public and employees were put at risk and one employee was extremely fortunate to escape with his life.”

Richard Thake, Executive Member for Community Safety added: “I hope this serves as a lesson to other business owners that we will take action when fire safety regulations are flouted.”