HARINGEY Council has successfully secured a conviction against the owner of two children's nurseries in Tottenham.

Magistrates ruled that the Children Act 1989 was breached at the Busy Bears nurseries in Beaconsfield Road and Bruce Grove.

Proprietor Sharon Foster was convicted of two offences following a failure to comply with registration rules.

The two nurseries have been registered with the council since 1988 and 1990 respectively.

In May last year the authority's registration and inspection unit received complaints about low staff levels and that the nurseries had admitted too many children.

The allegations were investigated and Mrs Foster was warned that enforcement would follow if the rules were broken again.

Proceedings were started by the council after the regulations were breached again in November 1998.

Mrs Foster was given a two-year conditional discharge and ordered to pay £1,598.29 costs.

Afterwards Haringey Council's housing and social services director Dinos Kousoulou said: "The council takes its responsibilities in this area very seriously.

"Registration requirements are there to protect children and, in the council's view, children are put at an unacceptable risk when registration requirements are breached.

"While we want to encourage the growth of good childcare services for the people of Haringey, we will not hesitate to take action where the safety of children is at risk.

"It is very important that those who operate day care services in Haringey understand that they must comply with registration requirements as they are there to protect young children."

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