Gas fitter sentenced for series of safety breaches

Date:

6 January 2012

A North Wales man, who falsely claimed to be a registered gas engineer, has been sentenced to eight months' imprisonment after dangerously installing a gas boiler at an address in Rhyl.

The Heath and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted Mr Lee Hampshire, trading as LH Heating and Plumbing, for carrying out gas work and falsely claiming to be registered with the industry registration scheme.

Chester Crown Court heard that, on 11 August 2009, Mr Hampshire made several errors when installing the boiler at the domestic property. One fault was classed as 'immediately dangerous', which led to the gas supply being disconnected.

Following installation the pressure gauge on the boiler developed a fault and Mr Hampshire recommended the householder contact the manufacturer directly.

An engineer was sent out to the property to assess the problem but noticed the flue for the boiler was not fitted with the appropriate screws, and there was a visible gap between the flue and the boiler, which should always be airtight.

At the time of fitting the boiler, Mr Hampshire falsely claimed to be a member of the official gas registration scheme, Gas Safe Register, by providing the householder with an expired registration number from CORGI, the previous official registration body.

The court heard HSE had previously served Mr Hampshire with a Prohibition Notice on 20 November 2008 for failing to register with the scheme, and for putting his customers at risk of serious personal injury.

HSE Inspector, Damian Corbett, said:

"The fact that Mr Hampshire continued to carry out work with gas fittings, despite being issued with a Prohibition Notice around a year earlier, shows a blatant disregard for the law, codes of practice and the standards that regulate the domestic gas safety market.

"Even after this notice was issued, he failed to register with the approved gas safety scheme and continued to deceive his customers that he was an accredited member. He did not have the competencies required by law to carry out the work, and his actions could have put people's lives at risk."

Lee Hampshire, of 69 Marion Road, Prestatyn, Denbighshire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(2) and Section 33(1) (g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and four breaches of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. He was sentenced to eight months' imprisonment.

Paul Johnston, chief executive of Gas Safe Register said:

"We work closely with the HSE to investigate unregistered gas fitters and welcome successful prosecutions such as this.

"Unregistered gas fitters can present a real risk, not only in terms of potentially leaving gas appliances in an unsafe condition which could cause carbon monoxide poisoning, fire, gas leaks or even potentially explosions, but also leaving people out of pocket if they have to have the work put right.

"All gas engineers have to be Gas Safe registered - it's the law. We are urging everyone to take care and be gas safe, by only using registered engineers for any gas work. You can check if an engineer is registered by visiting www.gassaferegister.co.uk or calling 0800 408 5500.

Carbon monoxide has no smell or taste and it can kill quickly without warning. Gas appliances should be properly maintained, and should always have an annual safety check. HSE also strongly recommends the use of carbon monoxide detectors in homes as a precaution.

Notes to editors

1. The Health and Safety Executive is Britain's national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related 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. Gas Safe Register is the government approved registration scheme for gas engineers in the UK, Isle of Man and Guernsey and replaces the CORGI scheme. The register of 126,000 gas engineers, aims to protect 21 million gas consumers from dangerous gas work. It is a legal requirement for any gas engineering business or self employed gas engineer carrying out domestic or commercial gas work to be registered under the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998. More information on the Gas Safe Register can be found at www.gassaferegister.co.uk
3. Gas Safe Register assesses the competence of engineers on the register by inspecting a sample of the gas work they carry out to make sure they are safe to work on gas.  Gas Safe Register is focused on gas safety and campaigns to raise awareness of gas safety risks, including those associated with using illegal gas workers.
4. More information on gas safety can be found on HSE's website at www.hse.gov.uk/gas
5. 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.
6. Section 33(1) (g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 states: It is an offence for a person to contravene any requirement or prohibition imposed by an improvement notice or a prohibition notice (including any such notice as modified on appeal);
7. Mr Hampshire also pleaded guilty to contravening the following regulations:
   1. Regulation 3 (1) Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998 in that he carried out work in relation to a gas fitting when he was not competent to do so;
   2. Regulation 3 (3) Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998 in that no self-employed person shall carry out any work in relation to a gas fitting or service pipework, unless the self-employed person is a member of a class of persons approved for the time being by the Health and Safety Executive.
   3. Regulation 3 (7) Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998 in that he falsely pretend to be a member of a class of persons required to be approved
   4. Regulation 26 (1) Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998 in that he installed a gas appliance and pipe work which when used constituted a danger to persons;

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