08/09/2010 - Landlord illegally fitted boiler
The public has been warned to check gas fitters are properly registered after one landlord put the lives of his tenants and others at risk by illegally fitting a gas boiler.
Richard Elliot, of Pennsylvania Road, Exeter, was fined at Honiton Magistrates' Court after he admitted two breaches of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations (1998).
Mr Elliot failed to isolate and cap the live gas pipe, and left work partially completed, when he installed a new boiler at a flat in Old Tiverton Road, Exeter, it was revealed in a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation.
A visiting officer from Exeter City Council raised safety concerns on March 29 this year, but not before the tenant of the flat, a grandmother, had been visited by her young grandchildren on a daily basis.
Mr Elliot was fined a total of £4,000 and ordered to pay costs of £1,787, including £15 to the victim compensation fund.
After the case, HSE inspector, Simon Jones, said: "Members of the public should check that gas fitters are members of the Gas Safe Register before any work is started. Do not be tempted to do the work yourself - you could be putting your life at risk."
Copyright © Press Association 2010
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