Illegal gas fitter faces prison threat for unsafe work

Date:

21 January 2013

An unregistered gas fitter has received a nine month suspended prison sentence for illegally carrying out sub-standard gas work at two chip shops in South Wales.

Abergavenny Magistrates' Court heard on Monday (21 January) that Richard Trezise, from Maesteg, installed a chip fryer at a fish bar in New Tredegar between July and September 2011 that was classed as 'immediately dangerous'.

Gas Safe inspectors found a number of safety defects with the gas appliance, including pipework being connected in a way that could have resulted in a serious gas leak if not rectified.

The Health and Safety Executive investigated and served Mr Trezise with a Prohibition Notice on 12 December 2011 preventing him from carrying out any further gas work until he was recognised by the Gas Safe Register.

However, in October 2012 a further complaint was received about Mr Trezise's work, this time in relation to the installation of a gas frying range at a fish bar in Penarth in the Vale of Glamorgan.

An environmental health officer from Vale of Glamorgan Council visited the premises and witnessed him working on the appliance.

The installation was inspected by a Gas Safe Register investigator and a number of deficiencies were found, leading to the equipment being classed as "at risk". Further investigation revealed that Trezise had never registered for Gas Safe Register membership.

Richard Trezise, of Christopher Road, Maesteg, pleaded guilty to four charges under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and a single breach of the Heath and Safety at Work etc Act 1974.

He was given a nine month prison sentence suspended for two years and was ordered to pay £1,500 in costs.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Sara Joanne Carter, said:

"Every year there are fires, explosions and people are killed by carbon monoxide poisoning as a direct result of gas appliances being improperly installed or maintained. In order to prevent such incidents, it is a fundamental requirement that anyone who works on gas appliances is competent to do so.

"The law requires both employers and the self-employed to register with the Gas Safe Register. Richard Trezise was neither a Gas Safe Registered engineer, nor had he undertaken any formal training or assessment.

"Because he had some experience in the manufacture of chip fryers he believed he was competent. However, the serious safety deficiencies we identified with his work proves that wasn't the case. He was operating in an illegal and unsafe manner."

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

"Every Gas Safe registered engineer carries a Gas Safe ID card, which shows who they are and the type of gas appliances they are qualified to work on. We always encourage the public to ask for and check the card and if they have any concerns about the safety of work carried out in their home, to speak to us.

"Every year we investigate thousands of reports of illegal gas work. Call us on 0800 408 5500 or visit our website at www.gassaferegister.co.uk."

Further information about gas safety can be found online at www.hse.gov.uk/gas

Notes to editors

1. 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. Regulation 3(1) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 states: "No person shall carry out any work in relation to a gas fitting or gas storage vessel unless he is competent to do so. Without prejudice to the generality of paragraphs (1) and (2) above and subject to paragraph (4) below, 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. Regulation 26(1) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 states: "No person shall install a gas appliance unless it can be used without constituting a danger to any person."
4. Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, states: "(1) It shall be the duty of every employer to conduct his undertaking in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons not in his employment who may be affected thereby are not thereby exposed to risks to their health or safety. (2) 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."

Press enquiries

Regional reporters should call the appropriate Regional News Network press office.

Issued on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive by the Regional News Network