RADIOACTIVE material lost by a Kidderminster vehicle repair firm could be a danger for the next five years, a court has been told.

Kidderminster magistrates imposed a fine of £21,000 with £2,080 costs on Nationwide Crash Repair Centres, trading as Cars of Kidderminster in Whitehouse Road.

The company admitted five breaches of radioactive material storage regulations.

There was a substantial risk of harm for up to five years from a sealed cartridge of material used in metal-painting, said magistrates' chairman Susan Thompson.

Anyone who found the cartridge and tried to open it or dispose of it on a fire would be at risk, Environment Agency prosecutor Rod Hunt told the court.

It contained a radioactive substance used in a static attack gun, to remove static from vehicle surfaces before they were painted.

Firms using the gun had to follow a strict procedure and there was a paper chain of documents from the manufacturer to the supplier used to ensure that they were properly stored and supervised.

Police had to be informed if a gun was lost.

The cartridge supplied to Nationwide could not be found when the supplier came to collect it two months later, Mr Hunt said.

The firm took no action and did not tell the police.

Robert Locke for the firm, said the site manager at the time the cartridge disappeared had left in acrimonious circumstances. There was no hand-over period with his successor, who did not know the cartridge was missing.

When the company found out what had happened the managing director ordered that static guns should no longer be used at any of its 60 repair shops, Mr Locke told the magistrates.

The cartridge had a shelf life of a year and it might have been exhausted and carelessly discarded.

Speaking after the case Environment Agency inspector Stephen Riley, who was involved in the investigation, said: "Companies permitted to use radioactive sources have serious responsibilities to handle and store them properly and ensure they are not lost or mislaid.

"If they are lost, we need to be informed without delay and necessary action taken. Nationwide Crash Repairs failed to do this."