Part of the Legionella Data Index · curated record, last reviewed July 2026
| Defendant | Year | Region | Fine | Prosecutor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
BDL Select Operations Ltd Operator of the then-Landmark Hotel in Dundee. A Pontiac fever outbreak from the leisure-club spa pool left 65 people ill (18 confirmed). The spa pool had not been fully drained, cleaned or disinfected for over two months, filter backwashing was neglected, and a failed chlorine injector let bacteria breed. Pleaded guilty on indictment to two HSWA charges and was fined £54,000 at Dundee Sheriff Court in January 2016. No deaths. Prosecuted by COPFS in Scotland. Source
|
2016 | Scotland | £54k | COPFS |
|
Pontin's Limited (in administration) Death/outbreak Guests contracted Legionnaires' disease from a contaminated water storage tank feeding a chalet at the Lytham St Annes holiday camp, and a guest died. The company's own temperature records showed water held below recommended levels, and warnings were not acted upon. Convicted at Preston Crown Court in 2012 of breaching HSWA ss.2(1) and 3(1). Because the firm was in administration, a nominal £1,000 fine plus £10,000 costs was imposed; the judge said a fine near £500,000 would otherwise have applied. (Sources differ on whether HSE or the local authority led the prosecution.) Source
|
2012 | North West England | £1k | HSE |
|
Piperdam Golf & Leisure Resort Limited Death/outbreak Guest Edward Warnes, 60, died after contracting Legionnaires' disease from a hot tub and shower heads in a lodge at the Piperdam golf and leisure resort near Dundee in 2008. Control measures were inadequate and no suitable risk assessment had been carried out. The operating company (registered as Piperdam Golf & Leisure Resort Limited, Companies House SC150138) pleaded guilty at Forfar Sheriff Court in March 2011 to breaching HSWA ss.3(1) and 33(1) and was fined £120,000, reduced from £150,000 for the early plea. Prosecuted by COPFS following an Angus Council investigation. Source
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2011 | Scotland | £120k | COPFS |
|
Copthorne Hotel Cardiff (Millennium & Copthorne Hotels) Death/outbreak A Legionnaires' disease outbreak from July 1999 to February 2000 was traced to an incorrectly installed humidifier in a buffet unit. Two guests died and five others fell ill. The hotel pleaded guilty at Cardiff Crown Court in November 2005 to two breaches of the HSWA 1974 and was fined £40,000 plus £15,000 costs. A named health-and-safety consultant was separately prosecuted as an individual and is not recorded here. Source
|
2005 | Wales | £40k | HSE |
This is a curated record of significant, well-documented cases, not a complete list of every prosecution in the sector, and it skews towards fatal and heavily reported cases. Cases with no fine (a conditional discharge, for example) count as prosecutions but add nothing to the fines total. The full record, the curation rules and the correction policy are on the Legionella Enforcement Tracker.
Past prosecutions show what courts have punished; they say nothing about any individual building. The failings that recur in these cases - no risk assessment, no written scheme, no monitoring records, warnings ignored - are exactly what the baseline controls address, and our sector guide for hotels and holiday lets walks through them.
Free legionella risk assessment template
A structured Word document following the five-step approach in ACOP L8. Covers risk identification, written scheme, monitoring, and records. If it isn't written down, you can't evidence it.
Follows ACoP L8 and HSG274 Part 2. Free. No spam.