A new study has reviewed 200 cases brought by fire services under the Fire Safety Order since it came into force 13 years ago.

They concerned fire prosecutions in different types of properties, including shops, hotels and homes.

However, strikingly, HMOs were the most common type of property, representing 25% of prosecutions.

All 200 of the cases in the study were undertaken by fire safety lawyer Warren Spencer.

The second most striking finding is just how much fines for breaches of fire safety shot up after the Grenfell Tower disaster.

Spencer found that:

• Out of 200 cases only nine defendants have pleaded not guilty to all charges brought, resulting in trials. All nine were found guilty.
• Article 14 relating to emergency routes and exits is the most enforced.
• The most prosecutions by one fire service is 120.
• Three fire services have not brought any prosecutions since the order came into force.
• The total handed out in fines is £1,230,879.
• The average fine 2014-2019 was £20,375.
• The average fine post-Grenfell was £27,519.

According to government statistics, there were 560 prosecutions between October 2013 and October last year, meaning that Spencer undertook over a third of all prosecutions under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.