Case 185 - Church representative told enquirer to move pram because it was causing an obstruction and contravening fire safety regulations

Issue

A representative of a church told the enquirer to move his child's pram because it was causing an obstruction to a procession, was contravening fire regulations and a health and safety risk. When the enquirer challenged the person concerned, she told him she was a health and safety officer.

Panel decision

It is unclear to the panel whether the "health and safety officer" asked for the pram to be removed because of genuine concerns about evacuation on fire safety grounds or whether this was simply used as an excuse to remove a potential obstruction to the procession.