A KENT car dealership has been fined £9,000 for falsely describing work done on cars submitted for routine servicing.

The company, Whitehouse (South London) Limited, operators of Whitehouse Renault in Sovereign Way, Tonbridge, was also ordered to pay £1,500 costs by magistrates at Sevenoaks.

The prosecution was brought by staff from the County council's trading standards department after they submitted three cars for servicing over a period of a year.

Officers monitored work carried out on the cars, and on each occasion the vehicle was not serviced as claimed. Basic checks on lights, wiper blades and seat belts were overlooked.

The magistrates said the case showed the quality and service expected by the public at a main dealership had been "sadly lacking".

Richard Strawson, who led the investigation, warned: "Kent Trading Standards regularly submit cars for servicing to monitor the work done, and we will prosecute without warning if serious faults are found."

In court, Whitehouse said a new checklist and work practices had been introduced to ensure that such problems did not occur again. The firm operates 37 main dealerships in London and the South East.