Yorkshire decontamination company which deep cleaned hotel where Covid-19 was first detected in the UK admits health and safety offences and failing to protect employees

Bio Decontamination Ltd pleaded guilty to a number of charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act at York Magistrates Court last week.

The business, based at Haxby in York, was founded in 2019 and in February 2020 was contracted to conduct a deep clean of the StayCity Hotel in York after the first Covid-19 cases in the UK were confirmed in two guests, a mother and son who had travelled from China.

The charges relate to 2019, when Bio Decontamination Ltd employees were sent to Scarborough Hospital to fumigate the Aspen Ward. It was accepted that the company failed to protect workers John Beal and Howard Dickinson from the risk of exposure to ionised hydrogen peroxide.

Bio Contamination Ltd was fined £16,775 and ordered to pay the Health and Safety Executive’s court costs of £26,228, plus a victim surcharge of £170.

The company has two active directors, Richard Macauley and Lyndon Andre McMillan. Last year a compulsory strike-off notice was issued against them, but according to Companies House records was discontinued. Its accounts are overdue and the website has been taken offline.

Since Covid, Bio Decon teams have conducted deep cleans at the training grounds of a number of professional sports clubs, including Harrogate Town FC and York City Knights RLFC, and of visitor attractions including Ripley Castle, near Harrogate, and York Maze. They were also engaged to work at The Principal Hotel in York and for York City Council, according to posts on the business’s Facebook account. Other clients included car dealerships and nurseries.

A statement on the company’s Linkedin page reads: “At BioDecon we use hydrogen peroxide in environments sensitive to biological contaminants, and those at risk of superbug outbreaks. Our staff are highly trained and have all training required to use such a dangerous substance.

"Health and safety come first in our decontamination process. We ensure our employees and anyone else that is in the vicinity is 100 per cent safe. We use a dilute form of H2O2 and deploy it through a combination of gas and vapour.”

Mr McMillan is Andy McMillan, a South African former York City footballer who played against Manchester United in 1995. His son Max is a Leeds United academy graduate now playing for Wigan Athletic.