An illegal gas fitter has been ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service and received a suspended prison sentence after a boiler he installed at a family home in Wirral was found to be 'immediately dangerous'.

Janusz Potocki fitted the boiler at a house on Larch Grove in Prenton near Birkenhead on 5 November 2011 despite not being registered with Gas Safe – the official list of gas engineers.

The 50-year-old was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after it emerged the flue on the boiler had been badly installed, creating at potential risk that carbon monoxide could be released into the home.

Wirral Magistrates' Court heard Mr Potocki had returned to the house on several occasions after the owners reported the boiler was not working properly. They eventually contacted the manufacturer, who sent out their own engineer.


He identified the boiler as being immediately dangerous and this opinion was confirmed when another Gas Safe-registered engineer visited the property to carry out repairs. The issue was then reported to the Gas Safe Register and HSE.

The court was told Mr Potocki had received a letter from HSE in September 2011 warning him that he needed to be a member of the Gas Safe Register after he allegedly carried out a gas safety check for a landlord at another property.

He signed a document to acknowledge receiving the letter but despite this still went ahead with the boiler installation in Prenton.

Janusz Potocki pleaded guilty to two breaches of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 by carrying out gas work without being registered and failing to make sure the flue on the boiler was safe.

Mr Potocki, of Tudor Road in Birkenhead, was ordered to carry out 200 hours of community service and received a six-month suspended prison sentence, which means he will be sent to prison if he commits another offence in the next two years. He also ordered to pay prosecution costs of £3,500 during the sentencing hearing on 17 December 2013.

(CD/MH)