A VAN company has been fined £15,000 after it defied a Government order prohibiting workers from spraying toxic paint in an unprotected area.

The Health and Safety Executive issued the order to Tom Gallagher Group Ltd trading as the M4 Van Centre after HSE inspector Matt Greenly witnessed the breaches at the body shop in Station Road.

He told Swindon Magistrates Court there had been no protection from the dangerous fumes that emanated from paint containing poisonous isocyanate.

Exposure to the chemical can cause long-term health problems such as occupational asthma and permanent respiratory damage, and can have adverse effects on the kidneys, liver and nervous system.

Mr Greenly issued a prohibition order last April and then returned to carry out a spot check three months later.

On the second occasion, he saw another employee spray-painting a vehicle in an outbuilding instead of in a properly controlled spray booth.

He was told the volume of work for the body shop side of the business had increased in anticipation of a move to new premises.

"The breach was carried out in order for work to be completed before deadline and was therefore for financial gain," Mr Greenly said.

"An overfull order book cannot be used to ignore health and safety regulations or an enforcement notice as it suits."

The Swindon-based firm was described in court as a small business with 70 employees, dealing with the sale and hire of vehicles. It also has a body shop operation.

The company, which has sites in Broad Hinton, Lyneham, Marlbor-ough Road and Station Road, plans to expand to a two-acre site on the Westmead Industrial Estate.

Company solicitor David Janata said: "Once the offence became apparent it was immediately accepted that the breach of the of the prohibition notice was inexcusable and should not have occurred."

The company co-operated with the HSE investigation and took prompt disciplinary action against the staff involved, he added.

Presiding magistrate Bob Sparling said: "You were told about the problems of spraying these dangerous substances. You were given a warning and then you did it again.

"It was a flagrant disregard of what you had been told. We feel that it was not isolated. It happened twice that we know of because the inspector saw it."

The company was also ordered to pay £1,203 in court costs. After the case, Darren Tompkins, general manager of the firm, said: "I think it is harsh. The incident occurred when an employee acted against company guidelines and policies. We always put people before profit.

"We acted straight away to make sure the incident never happened again. It is a shame the court didn't seem to take this into account."

bvadde@newswilts.co.uk