A North Yorkshire landlord has been sentenced for risking the life of his tenants by breaching fire regulations.

Laszlo Banky, 51, of Castle Road, Scarborough, received a community order and has to complete 100 hours’ unpaid work after being convicted of eight breaches of regulations in relation to fire safety.

He was also convicted of failing to apply for the appropriate licence for his guesthouse in North Marine Road, where he lived with eight tenants.

Andy Skelton, Scarborough Borough Council’s head of environmental services, said: “In this case, the nature of the offences was serious enough to warrant a much greater sentence and landlords should not take this warning lightly.

“We will always attempt to work with landlords, but in cases where lives have recklessly been put at risk, we will not hesitate to take firm enforcement action.”

North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service station manager Richard Hanley said he was satisfied the prosecution had been successful.