Hockmeyer Motors of Lincoln Road, Holdingham, pleaded guilty at Grantham Magistrates Court on Thursday to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act following an horrific incident at the garage workshop on January 7 last year.

The company, represented at court by directors Christian Slingsby and Rachael Hockmeyer, was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £9,000 costs in a series of instalments over the next 12 months.

Year 11 student Jamie Fenn-Smith was on a work experience placement at the Holdingham Garage. He had been holding cables in place while experienced mechanic, Shaun Holloway, changed brake cables on a car.

Prosecuting Nina Best said it appeared to be usual practice for the mechanic to use a brake-cleaning fluid called Solvitol, which is extremely flammable, to clean other parts as well.

He had been dealing with an oil leak at the same time and switched on the engine to check for leaks, spraying the cleaner to get rid of any spills. As the work experience student moved away, the spray vapour was ignited by the hot engine in a ball of flame, which hit him in the back, causing serious burns and fusing his T-shirt print onto his skin.

Staff quickly dealt with the fire and called an ambulance. His injuries were treated successfully, leaving him with full movement and he is now employed by the garage in the workshop.

The firm revealed to Health and Safety Executive inspectors there had been no risk assessment for the use of this chemical despite information being provided by the manufacturer. The company had also failed to monitor the workshop activities as the mechanic had regularly used this fluid inappropriately.

Mark Watson, defending, said it must have been a terrifying experience for the young man involved.

He said Mr Holloway admitted he had previously used the spray on engines while running but had been warned of the dangers by a retired employee.The company had no knowledge this practice was going on and it has since been stopped.

Mr Watson said the firm employed 26 people and had been in operation for 70 years with a previously impeccable record.

* After the case, HSE inspector Judith McNulty-Green, said: "This incident left a young man hospitalised and could have been avoided if the company had assessed the risk associated with such habitual use of the solvent and implemented appropriate risk control measures to reduce identified risks."

* In a statement issued after the case, Rachael Hockmeyer said Hockmeyer Motors Ltd took the health and safety of its staff, customers and visitors very seriously.

She said: "We were disappointed and confused to find ourselves being prosecuted by the HSE. We reported the accident immediately and cooperated fully with the subsequent investigation.

"The original HSE investigator made it very clear to us that he believed this to be a genuine accident."