A company has been ordered to pay more than £4,000 by magistrates for flogging furniture that did not conform to safety regulations.

Nechells company Tizio advertised furniture on eBay and Amazon that failed to carry necessary labels.

Julie Kettle, prosecuting at Birmingham Magistrates Court on behalf of Birmingham City Council, said furniture manufacturers have to ensure they use material tested to see how flammable they are if cigarettes or matches are dropped on them.

The laws are aimed at reducing the number of deaths caused by people breathing highly poisonous fumes from burning foams on furniture.

“All furniture must also have permanent labels on them showing that they complied with the safety regulations,” she added.

When officers raided the company in Railway Terrace, Nechells, they found none of the furniture on display in the showroom bore labels, the court heard.

And when officers quizzed manager Andrew Ellis he claimed the owner of the company was in China and refused to allow the team to see paperwork.

Later officers discovered owner Winnie Chan was, in fact, working at a bank in Cheshire. Miss Chan had started the business while studying at university and the firm made a turnover of more than £225,000 in 2010, magistrates were told.

“Due to the volume of furniture without labelling, officers decided to issue an on-the-spot suspension notice to stop it from being sold,” Miss Kettle added.

Lisa Hancox, defending, said: “I want to stress the furniture wasn’t unsafe, it had been tested, but it simply did bit bear proper labels to show this.

“Yes, it should have been displaying labels and a lesson has been learned the hard way. My client was not involved with the day-to-day running of the business and it’s become apparent that Mr Ellis was not doing what he should have been.

“When Trading Standards visited he wasn’t exactly helpful, which is a shame as my client was very cooperative.”

Miss Chan previously pleaded guilty on behalf of the business to 27 counts of breaching furniture safety and consumer protection regulations.

Magistrates fined the firm £1,000 and ordered it pay £2,365 costs, £720 to fund the destruction of the furniture, and a £15 victim surcharge.