A landlord has been prosecuted after carrying out dangerous gas work at a property in Ilfracombe, North Devon.

Allan King of Arcade Road, Ilfracombe, pleaded guilty to breaches of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

He was sentenced to nine months imprisonment suspended for 18 months, fined £3,000 and ordered to pay more than £12,184 in costs.

Exeter Crown Court heard that Mr King replaced a boiler at his rented property on Arcade Road in September 2016, despite having no training in gas work and not being registered with Gas Safe Register.

-- Advertisement --

The boiler developed faults and a month later King called in a gas engineer for help. The engineer immediately recognised the boiler was risking the tenants' lives and isolated it to make it safe. In addition, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) was informed and an investigation was launched.

In July 2016, HSE had previously warned Mr King that only a member of Gas Safe Register should work on gas appliances.

HSE Inspector, Simon Jones, said: "Landlords have a legal duty to ensure that any gas work at their rented properties is only undertaken by a member of Gas Safe Register.

"In this case, Mr King ignored previous warnings and undertook his own DIY gas work for which he had neither the competence nor credentials. His actions were dangerous and put his tenants' lives at risk."

(LM)