Preston VAT avoiders banned

Brothers Asif Ibrahim Bux and Firoz Ibrahim Bux, directors of property development firm Goldace Estates Ltd, have been disqualified for 16 years in total for failure to pay VAT worth around £1.3m to HM Revenue & Customs.

Preston's iconic bus station has been approved for grade 2-listed status as a building of significant architectural and historic interest by culture minister Ed Vaizey, meaning that it is unlikely that it will now be demolished.

The family behind Preston-based alarm company, Shepherd Security, have been banned from being company directors for a total of 15 and a half years for failing to pay tax.

Two housing association tenants have been given a warning for breaching an injunction requiring them to give engineers access to their home to carry out gas safety checks.

A warehouse building in Bamber Bridge, Preston has been sold through property consultants Sanderson Weatherall for £580,000.

A Preston-based steel supplier to the construction industry has appeared in court after a platform slid off the forks of a forklift truck and struck one of its employees.

A Preston demolition firm has been sentenced after knocking down a building in the Lake District containing hundreds of asbestos ceiling tiles, putting the lives of workers and local residents at risk.