A self-employed handyman has been prosecuted for carrying out unsafe gas work at a property in Hartlepool, Co Durham.

Paul Joseph Vokes of Cresswell Drive, Hartlepool pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. He was sentenced to 18 weeks with £3,000 in costs and a compensation payment of £1,470.

Teesside Magistrates' Court heard how Mr Vokes, trading as Paul's Handyman Services, replaced ridge tiles on the roof of a property in Coatham Drive on 16 May 2014.

One of the tiles incorporated an adaptor so it could be connected directly to the flue pipe which ran from the ground floor to the loft space. The flue's purpose was to direct products of combustion, e.g. carbon monoxide from the gas boiler, directly outside.

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However, an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) discovered the type of tile vent purchased by Mr Vokes was neither an adequate or appropriate substitute for the roof tile it was to replace, and was designed simply to ventilate the loft space. HSE said it did not incorporate an adaptor and was therefore not suitable to flue products of combustion.

In addition, Mr Vokes was found to not be competent to carry out work on flues or any gas fittings, nor was he registered with Gas Safe Register. HSE said his work fell well short of the expected standards when dealing with flues for gas appliances, therefore putting the homeowner at risk of serious harm or even death.

HSE inspector Jonathan Wills said: "Mr Vokes targeted an elderly lady in order to profit financially, with a flagrant disregard for the law. Had the work been carried out properly by someone competent to do so, then the homeowner's life would not have been put at risk."

(LM/MH)