A former gas engineer has been sentenced today after conducting gas work he was no longer registered or competent to do and leaving it in a dangerous condition.
The Crown Court heard how the gentleman undertook the installation of a new gas boiler at a property in September 2017. A matter of hours after he had completed the installation, the boiler developed faults and the homeowners reported these faults to him. The gentle man returned to the address, on numerous occasions after the installation but was unable to resolve the issues. A Gas Safe Registered gas engineer later inspected the work and found it to be of poor standard, classing it as ‘At Risk’.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that the gentleman’s membership of Gas Safe Register had expired on 19 April 2017 and after this time, he was no longer registered to undertake gas work. He used his old Gas Safe Register number on the commissioning document supplied to the home owners and did so knowing that this was no longer valid. The investigation also found that he had left the gas boiler flue, that he fitted, in a dangerous state that allowed the gas boiler fumes to leak into the property and could have caused carbon monoxide poisoning.
The gentleman pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 3(3), 3(7) and 26(1) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. He has been sentenced to eight months prison, suspended for 18 months for each offence, to run concurrently. In addition he was fined £500, and ordered to pay the homeowners £500 compensation and £1,000 for the prosecution costs.
Speaking after the hearing, the HSE inspector said: “He undertook gas work which he knew he was not registered to do. He deliberately deceived a retired couple.
“The gas work that was undertook put the lives of the homeowners and anyone visiting them at serious risk from carbon monoxide poisoning.
“All gas work must be done by a registered Gas Safe engineer to ensure the highest standards are met to prevent injury and loss of life.”