Owners of former care home where man died in arson attack fined £22,300 for safety breaches

They operated Manor House Care Home in High Street, Easington Lane, where Patryk Mortimer, 39, perished in November 2018 and nine residents fled for their lives.

Though not blamed for the tragedy, they were sentenced after pleading guilty to failing to comply with the management of houses in multi-occupancy.

Those hit with individual fines that ranged from £1,409 to £4,620 were Harbinder Kaur Bal, Jotinder Singh Bal, Harjinder Kaur Bal, Baljit Singh Dulai, Parveen Dulai, Harpreet Sahajpal and Navkirn Sahajpal.

Declan Lancaster, 23, admitted manslaughter and was jailed for life at Newcastle Crown Court earlier this month.

At South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court, District Judge Kathryn Meek described the potential for harm caused by the defendants’ regulations’ defects as “high”.

While accepting their genuine remorse, she said she had to impose deterrent sentences for others operating in the multi-occupancy sector.

She said: “I consider the primary purpose of my sentence to be punishment and deterrent.

“The financial implications need to be felt by the defendants and it needs to be clear to them and others acting as landlords that it’s not more cost effective to avoid their obligations under the regulations than to take the appropriate precautions.”

She added: “Each accepts that they have fallen short. Ultimately, the defendants all accept that their actions fell short.”

The home was bought for £650,000 in February 2009, but closed in September 2015 when deemed inadequate by the Care Quality Commission.

When the fire took hold, it was operating as a house in multi-occupation, with 11 tenants.

Previous hearings were told a catalogue of safety blunders had been identified prior to the fatal blaze.

Issues with locks were noted by Sunderland City Council inspectors in 2017.

And the day before the attack on Saturday, November 3, Northumbria Police officers had reported that parts of the building were “uninhabitable”.

The most serious matters were mortice locks on some bedrooms, rather than thumb-turn locks allowing escape without a key, raised by the council and still in use after the fire

And a linen store had no lock, a self-closing device or a 30-minute fire door, and a ground floor ceiling was in such a poor state water had made the floor “spongy”

Judge Meek told the hearing none of the defendants had any relevant recent convictions, all were hard-working and would likely have been impacted by the fire.

She added: “I acknowledge that some of the defendants have their own personal difficulties, all to greater or lesser extent, financial difficulties.

“I acknowledge there has been a significant amount of time since offending and sentence. This will no doubt have taken its toll on the defendants.

“Some of that delay was brought about by their initial not guilty pleas, but the vast majority was not caused by the defendants.

“Regrettably, a large part was brought about by the impact of the Covid pandemic.”

Harbinder Kaur Bal, of Main Road, Ovingham, Northumberland, was fined £3,028, with an £86 victim surcharge.

Jotinder Singh Bal, also of Main Road, Ovingham, was fined £2,824, with an £80 victim surcharge.

Harjinder Kaur Bal, of First Avenue, Morpeth, Northumberland, was fined £2,167, with an £61 victim surcharge.

Baljit Singh Dulai, of Coverley Road, Sunderland, was fined £4,620, with a £132 victim surcharge.

Parveen Dulai, also of Coverley Road, was fined £1,890, with a £54 victim surcharge.

Harpreet Sahajpal and Navkirn Sahajpal, both of Meadowbank Drive, Guidepost, Northumberland, were each fined £1,409, with a £40 victim surcharge.

Each must also pay £500 court costs.

Support your Echo and become a subscriber today.

Enjoy unlimited access to all of our news and sport, see fewer ads, experience faster load times, test your brain with daily puzzles and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

The Sunderland Echo has been on Wearside since 1873, and your support means we can continue telling your stories for generations to come.

Click here to subscribe.