Capital’s Birmingham pop station BRMB was fined £15,000 on Friday after being taken to court by the Health and Safety Executive over a competition the station ran back in 2001. As previously reported the station got listeners to sit on a lump of ‘dry ice’ (solid carbon dioxide) as part of a ticket giveaway for the Birmingham version of Party In The Park. The listener who sat on the ice for the longest won the “coolest tickets in town” (get it?). But at minus 78 degrees competitors who sat on the ice suffered severe burns – four listeners were hospitalised and three needed ten weeks of treatment. The station was being prosecuted under the Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974 which requires employers to ensure people not in their employment, but who may be affected by their activities, are not exposed to risks.
After receiving the fine Paul Davies, Operations Director for the Capital Group, told reporters: "We deeply regret the consequences of BRMB's listener competition ‘The Coolest Seats in Town’. It was never our intention to place anyone in jeopardy and we sincerely apologise to the participants and their families for their injuries and distress. Over the past 30 years listeners to Capital radio stations have participated in and enjoyed many high profile station events including Europe's largest open air event, Party in the Park, without consequence. As responsible broadcasters we take the health and welfare of our listeners extremely seriously and adhere to stringent health and safety practices as testified by our exemplary track record to date. We acknowledge that, in this particular incident, mistakes were made. Following our own internal investigation we have worked alongside the health and safety executive and all the other relevant authorities, to put all the necessary steps in place to ensure that a situation like this cannot occur again.”