The furniture and clothing chain Laura Ashley has been fined for selling non fire-proof fabrics. Gloucestershire Trading Standards posed as customers after a complaint by a local upholsterer.
Tests on sofa material bought from branches in Cheltenham and Gloucester found it did not comply with legal requirements.
The company was fined �12,000 and ordered to pay �3000 in legal costs at Gloucester Crown.
The company said there was small print advising people to treat the fabric before being used on furniture but has since admitted the disclaimer was not very effective.
Laura Ashley has now withdrawn the two relevant lines of fabric.
Roger Marles, Head of Trading Standards, said: "Before the introduction of these regulations upholstered furniture was a major cause of death in house fires.
"This is a trend which has been reversed by the introduction of these stringent requirements."
One-Minute World News 
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