BOSSES at Burnley fashion giant Boohoo have hit back after they were the subject of an undercover investigation by Channel 4.

Several claims were made by a whistleblower and undercover reporter regarding the retailer’s warehousing operation at Heasandford by producers of Dispatches.

It was alleged the company operated a ‘three strikes’ policy for agency staff, with workers castigated for ‘smiling’ and lateness – and having to undergo regular security checks on leaving or going for toilet breaks.

But the senior management at Boohoo, which has its headquarters in Manchester, has defended its record following the broadcast, the second instalment in a two-part probe into cut-price fashion.

And the firm has paid tribute to the efforts of staff at its Widow Hill Road base, which has grown from just 65 in 2010 to an estimated 1,642 by the end of last year, mirroring a 40 per cent leap in revenues.

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Boohoo has insisted the ‘three strikes’ policy is not recognised there and that agency staff are not treated differently to full-time workers.

A total of 330 former agency staff were taken on permanently during 2016, the firm has said, and major plans were revealed late last year to increase the workforce to 2,686.

A Boohoo spokesman said: “We have invested over £25million in the Burnley site in the last three years and we have made a public commitment to invest £70million over the next seven years.

“We have announced a £5million spend on new facilities for 2017, designed to improve the working environment of our employees.

“This will include a 24-hour subsidised restaurant as well as gym and leisure facilities.

“In 2016, Boohoo raised £37,000 through colleague fundraising events and charitable donations.

“This included events for the Pendleside Hospice in Burnley, most notably, a sample sale which raised £7,600.”

TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady condemned working practices at the Burnley factory, as part of the Dispatches programme.

Burnley Council leader Cllr Mark Townsend criticised the company over a previous Dispatches report aired last week, which claimed workers making Boohoo clothes were being paid less than half the national living wage.