A man has been sentenced for carrying out illegal gas pipework at a flat in Torquay.

Geoffrey Voss, 59, of South Street, Torquay, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3(3) and 33(1)(c) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations.

He was sentenced to 36 weeks imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered to pay £737 in costs.

Newton Abbot Magistrates' Court how Mr Voss, who works as a barman, installed gas pipework and a gas boiler at a flat on Old Torwood Road despite holding no competencies in gas work and never having been registered with Gas Safe Register for any gas work.

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His illegal work came to light when the homeowner repeatedly asked him for the commissioning documentation for the new gas boiler that he had installed. Mr Voss never produced the document and the homeowner then raised his concerns with Gas Safe Register.

During the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) investigation, Mr Voss admitted that he had not commissioned the gas boiler after he had installed it.

Such commissioning should have included tests to ensure that the boiler that he installed wasn't producing high levels of carbon monoxide, but he left the boiler working without the tests being undertaken, putting the homeowner at risk from deadly carbon monoxide poisoning.

HSE Inspector Simon Jones said: "Only engineers with the correct competencies and who are registered with Gas Safe can legally carry out gas work and it is fortunate no-one was harmed as a result of Mr Voss's illegal work.

"Once a gas boiler has been installed it should always be properly commissioned to ensure that it is operating safely. In this case Mr Voss did no such safety checks after his illegal work, leaving it to chance that there would not be a risk of fire, explosion or carbon monoxide poisoning."

(LM)