A college clerk deliberately misled a group of workers into believing the painting job they were carrying out was safe, despite knowing full well that they were at risk of asbestos exposure.

Geoff Cunnington, the former clerk of works at King's College, Cambridge, was fined £1000 with £500 costs after pleading guilty to breaching section 7 of the HSWA 1974, in that he failed to take reasonable care for the health and safety of the painters. King's College was also fined £16,000 and ordered to pay £14,500 costs after pleading guilty to eight offences of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006.

Sentencing both parties on 6 March, Cambridge magistrates heard how Cunnington had told staff to paint the underside of a balcony in a college theatre on 29 November 2006.

The HSE carried out a preventative inspection at the college prior to the incident and instructed Cunnington to ensure workers were given asbestos awareness training. But it was in the period between the inspection and the training that the work was carried out. It was only by going on the course that the workers were alerted to the possibility that they had been put at undue risk by the work, and confronted the clerk. He resigned 24 hours later.

Cunnington was fully aware that the balcony recorded asbestos, as the information was contained in a Type 2 survey report, which was compiled out in 2003. However, he assured the workers they would not be in danger. Magistrates heard how the workers, who were wearing face masks and overalls, painted for a number of hours while dust fell on them. The material was also of a type that requires a licensed specialist contractor to carry out any work to it.

HSE inspector Gavin Bull told SHP: "The college should have ensured that its employees had been given proper asbestos awareness training. It should have also put in place a proper management plan, having conducted the Type 2 survey, and ensured that the right thing was done to the right bit of asbestos."

He added that it was ironic that King's sees itself as a leading educational establishment, yet had failed to educate its staff on the dangers of work they were carrying out on its premises.

King's said it felt badly let down by the clerk of works, who claimed in court that he felt untrained to deal with asbestos.

A spokesperson for the college told SHP: "The College deeply regrets this incident and has already put in place new systems and management for dealing with asbestos to protect its staff and students from any future risk." It now has a new clerk of works in place.