McColl’s has been fined £150,000 for failing to protect its staff during a series of store robberies in Merseyside.

Wirral Council brought the case to Liverpool Crown Court after it was found that a “failure to carry out risk assessments for shop staff exposed them to a risk of workplace violence”, as well as other health and safety breaches.

The six incidents took place between April 2011 and February 2012 including one robbery where a shop manager suffered a concussion and another where a member of staff was threatened by a knife. Several staff members were so traumatised they said they could never work in a shop again.

The court heard that shop staff had raised issues with management about a lack of equipment including lockable doors into back room areas and CCTV.

McColl’s pleaded guilty to six charges of breaching its duty of care to staff and was ordered to pay a £150,000 fine as well as £78,000 prosecution costs.

A McColl’s spokesperson said the company accepted the findings of the court: “The wellbeing and safety of our staff is of the upmost importance to us and prior to these incidents we had committed to review and update our health and safety policies. We have already addressed specific issues resulting from the case and have addressed the relevant policy across our nationwide network of stores.”