Landlord prosecuted for illegal gas work
News Category: Legal
Published: 27-Aug-2010
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A landlord from Exeter has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after he was found to have illegally carried out work on a gas supply in one of his properties.
The lives of a grandmother and the children who regularly visited her were put at risk by the faulty work, with Richard Elliot of Pennsylvania Road fined £4,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,787 at the resulting court case.
HSE inspector Simon Jones said: "The pipework left in the flat was extremely dangerous and could have led to a major gas explosion if one of the children had simply twisted the valve to let the gas escape."
He added that landlords must ensure all work on gas supplies is carried out by an engineer who is a member of the Gas Safe Register and told them they must not attempt to carry out repairs themselves.
This work includes installing or servicing a gas boiler, a cooker, a hob or a fire.
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