A business has been hit with a £10,000 fine after it was convicted of selling potentially dangerous children’s clothing.
In June 2024, Council Trading Standards officers seized more than 500 children’s dresses from Jack & Jill Limited, in Broughton Street, Manchester.
This was on the heels of two previous visits to this business by officers in December 2023 and March 2024 where the owner was ordered to remove certain items from sale under the suspicion that they did not meet safety standards.
However, after this advice was ignored had to be taken, resulting in this significant haul of dangerous items being taken away.
Samples of the clothing were sent away for testing and were found to be unsafe due to the length of sashes and ribbons attached the garments. Cords, drawstrings or ribbons which are too long have the potential to cause serious harm to a child if they become caught or tangled in playground equipment, automatic doors, escalators or other moving objects.
At a hearing held at Manchester Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 30 October, 2025, the company and its director, Rakhmat Ali, 50, of Greenhill Road, Manchester, claimed they had not intended to break the law and had purchased the clothing from a trusted supplier. However it accepted they should have removed the items when requested by the Council.
The defendants pleaded guilty to five offences under the General Products and Safety Regulations 2005.
The company was ordered to pay a £10,000 fine, a victim surcharge of £2,000 and costs of £2,745.
Ali was fined £1,500 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £600.
The seized items of clothing were subject to a seizure order and will be destroyed and recycled.
Councillor Lee-Ann Igbon, Executive Member for Vibrant Neighbourhoods, said: “When we purchase anything for a child we have to put our faith in the retailer that it is safe and will not cause them any harm.
“However in this case standards were clearly disregarded and despite several warnings from the Council no action was taken.
“We take issues around safety incredibly seriously and we want this to send a message that we will not allow traders to continue flouting the law, and putting children at risk.”