A struggling company has been fined £125,000 over "lamentable" safety standards that led to a massive explosion on the Hoo peninsula more than two years ago.

Judge David Griffith-Jones QC said the explosion caused a "substantial conflagration" and it was fortunate there were not multiple fatalities.

As well as the fine imposed, Eco-Oil Ltd were also ordered to pay £20,000 costs. The company, which has been operating at a loss, was given 10 months to pay the total of £145,000.

Ian Cross, 63, of Wickhambreaux, Canterbury, who has since retired as managing director, was fined £5,000 with £500 costs.

He and the company admitted breaches of duty under the Health and Safety Work Act 1974.

Maidstone Crown Court heard how welder Michael White escaped with a leg injury after a tank containing oil he was working on exploded on the Kingsnorth industrial estate on March 30 2007.

"Mr White is a very lucky man to have survived," said the judge. "Everyone on that site within the environment close to that tank had their lives placed at risk."

Prosecutor James Ageros said 41 fire appliances, involving firefighters from Kent, Essex, Sussex and London, fought the blaze using 6,300 litres of foam. A 200 metre exclusion zone was ordered and businesses were evacuated.