A Cardiff care home with fire safety failings which put lives at "serious risk" has had its fine reduced following an appeal.
The owners of Hillcroft Residential Care Home, in Llandaff, were initially fined £500,000 in September last year at Cardiff Magistrates' Court.
The court heard failings at the home, owned by Farrington Care Homes Ltd, could have led to a "large-scale tragedy" after it repeatedly ignored notices to improve.
Multiple inspections dating back in 2011 found the care home, which has 25 bedrooms, to have "inadequate fire risk assessments, insufficient smoke alarms, [and] inaccessible blocked fire escape routes".
District Judge Shomon Khan said the breaches were in the category of "high culpability". Summing up at the magistrates' court he said: "These are the most vulnerable members of our society. Each of them was put at risk… there was a risk of a large-scale tragedy. These are very serious offences."
The appeal was held at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday and was successful. The fine was reduced to £300,000 and Farrington Care Homes Ltd has six months to pay it.
