A company has been fined £30,000 for the unsafe removal of asbestos.

DOV Services Ltd, based in East Malling, put children “at risk” while it was removing cement sheets from a school, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found.

The company, which trades under the name Asbestos Gone, was also found to have removed loose fill asbestos insulation without having a licence to do so.

This was during the renovation of a shop in Redhill in April 2021.

Between March 30 and April 7, 2021, the company also removed asbestos cement sheets from the fascia of a school gymnasium and sports hall in Stanford-le-Hope, Essex.

During this, the company failed to put in place a safe system of work for the removal.

There were “little to no control measures” in place to protect its own workers, or pupils and staff at the school from exposure to asbestos, the HSE said.

Asbestos debris was found on the roofs, on top of the covered walkway around the buildings and on the floor at the base of the gymnasium and sports hall.

“It’s a sad irony that a company trading under the name of Asbestos Gone could make such a shambles of safely removing such a dangerous substance...”

The school had to engage a licensed asbestos contractor to undertake a remedial environmental clean as a result of the poor work.

On April 16, DOV Services Ltd pleaded guilty of breaching Section 2(1) and 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Regulation 8 of The Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 at Southwark Crown Court.

The company was fined £30,000 and ordered to pay costs of £7,260.85.

Company director David Ryce also pleaded guilty to all charges and was fined £5,000. He was also ordered to pay costs of £7,260.85.

After the hearing, HSE inspector Stephanie Hickford-Smith said: “It’s a sad irony that a company trading under the name of Asbestos Gone could make such a shambles of safely removing such a dangerous substance.

“DOV Services Ltd removed loose fill asbestos insulation, probably the most dangerous asbestos-containing material, from the site in Redhill, without having a licence to do so.

“It also put children and others, including its own workers and their families, at risk by failing to remove asbestos cement sheets from the school in Stanford-le-Hope under controlled conditions.”