Stourbridge builder fined for illegal gas work

Date:

6 October 2011

Release No:

WM510/11

A builder from Stourbridge carried out gas work at four houses in Worcester despite not being Gas Safe registered.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted James Raybould, who trades as Jim Raybould Electrical, Plumbing and Building Services, following the incidents between September 2009 and 15 July 2010.

The Gas Safe Register is the official compulsory registration scheme for gas engineers in Britain and it is illegal to carry out domestic gas work without registration.

Worcester Magistrates' Court heard the offences were discovered when James Raybould failed to fix a leak in a gas boiler he had earlier fitted.

His client contacted a registered gas engineer who told her the work was substandard. She then alerted the Gas Safe Register, who checked the four properties where the gas work had been carried out and they found two of the fires Mr Raybould had fitted were immediately dangerous.

The court also heard a family at one of the houses had suffered from headaches, which they suspected had been caused by the gas fire.

Mr Raybould, of Lady Greys Walk, Stourbridge, 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 and Use) Regulations 1998. He was fined £1,330 and ordered to pay £1,170 costs.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Tariq Khan said:

"Anyone who works on domestic gas appliances without being Gas Safe registered is breaking the law.

"James Raybould's substandard work meant the appliances were a serious risk to the health and safety of the people using them.

"Poorly installed gas work can cause explosions or carbon monoxide poisoning, which can be fatal and can also cause serious long-term health problems.

"Symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning include headaches, breathlessness, nausea, dizziness, tiredness, vomiting, collapse and loss of consciousness.

"Anyone who hires a gas engineer to carry out work in their home should always ask to see their Gas Safe Register identity card and contact the Register immediately on 0800 408 5500 or visit the website www.gassaferegister.co.uk if they have any concerns."

Paul Johnston, Chief Executive of Gas Safe Register, said:

"All Gas Safe registered engineers undergo rigorous training to ensure that the work they carry out in people's homes is safe.

"With a quarter of a million gas jobs carried out every year by illegal gas fitters who don't have the skills or the qualifications to work safely on gas, it is vital that householders always check that the engineer they use is on the Gas Safe Register, or they could be putting their lives and pocket at risk."

More information about the dangers of carbon monoxide is available from http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/co.htm

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training, new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk
2. 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 of their health and safety."
3. Regulation 3(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and 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."
4. More information about the Gas Safe Register can be found on www.gassaferegister.co.uk

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