Unregistered gas fitter fined after 700 lives put at risk

Date:

01 February 2010

Release No:

WM560/09

An unregistered gas fitter has been fined after admitting putting more than 700 seasonal workers in danger.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) brought the prosecution against self-employed gas installer Jaime Loxston, of Norton Canon, Herefordshire.

Mr Loxton pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and Regulation 3(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998. He was fined a total of £1,250 and ordered to pay £550 costs by Hereford Magistrates.

The court heard how between 20 May 2004 and 9 May 2008, Mr Loxston was working at a caravan site at Brierley, near Leominster in Herefordshire, used as accommodation for migrant workers employed by S&A Produce, a large soft fruit growers.

Mr Loxston had been contracted to install appliances, connect and disconnect pipework, and conduct gas safety inspections of LPG fuelled appliances in up to 200 caravans.

In July 2008, gas appliances in five randomly selected caravans at the site were examined by independent CORGI registered gas engineers from the Health & Safety Laboratory. They identified numerous defects with their installation and operation.

The most serious of these defects included significant gas leaks from pipework and spillage of carbon monoxide from appliances, which was a significant risk to the safety of occupants.

It emerged that Mr Loxston was not CORGI registered at the time and a prohibition notice was served on him, requiring him to cease gas work until he was registered.

He replied to a warning letter from the HSE in 2002 saying he was planning to gain the correct accreditation but this never happened.

HSE inspector Luke Messenger said: "Badly fitted gas appliances can be highly dangerous, if not fatal. There is the threat of carbon monoxide poisoning from the fumes, as well as the potential for fire and explosion if leaking gas is exposed to a naked flame or a spark.

"The activities of Mr Loxston were a danger to more than 700 seasonal workers and it was extremely fortunate no lives were lost.

"There are specific qualifications for work on caravans and residential park homes, and also for the types of appliances found in them. Anyone working in these locations or on these appliances without the right qualifications will be working illegally. This man was not even a registered gas fitter

"Anyone having work done on their gas appliances, whether they are homeowners, landlords or businesses, must always check to see if the engineer is on the Gas Safe Register. Accredited engineers will have a Gas Safe Register ID. If they refuse to show the card or if you have suspicions they may not be legitimate, they should be reported immediately."

Notes to editors

1. Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 states: It shall be the duty of every self-employed person to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that he and other persons (not being his employees) who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety.
2. Regulation 3(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998 states: "No employer shall allow any of his employees to carry out any work in relation to a gas fitting or service pipework and no self-employed person shall carry out any such work, unless the employer or self-employed person, as the case may be, is a member of a class of persons approved for the time being by the Health and Safety Executive for the purposes of this paragraph."
3. Since April 2009 the CORGI Register has been replaced by the Gas Safe Register.
4. For more information about the Gas Safe Register visit the website at www.gassaferegister.co.uk/.

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Issued on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by COI News & PR (West Midlands)