Gas detection failings not to be sniffed at as Morecambe landlord handed fine
The risk of punishment from gas detection failings should not be underestimated, with one Morecambe landlord recently being handed thousands of pounds in fines for such offences.
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Businesses have a responsibility to protect staff and customers from gas detection failings and are required to carry out certain industry-specific tests or face punishment.
One company owner who found this out the hard way was Morecambe landlord Sean Powell, who recently pleaded guilty to skipping annual gas safety checks at three of his flats in the town.
The 44-year-old London-based property owner was handed thousands of pounds in fines by Lancaster Magistrates' Court after admitting failing to arrange the tests at flats on Clarendon Road and Balmoral Road between September 2009 and October 2010.
Mr Powell, who is based in London, had failed to use a Gas Safe-registered engineer at his three flats and admitted to breaching the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.
As a result of failing to carry out the checks - designed to protect tenants from carbon monoxide poisoning and gas leaks - the Bayswater resident was fined £6,000 and told to pay £1,424 in prosecution costs.
Health and Safety Executive principal inspector Mike Sebastian explained that the landlord had a responsibility to keep those living in his properties safe.
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"Dozens of people are killed or become seriously ill in the UK each year as a result of carbon monoxide poising, caused by unsafe gas appliances," the expert said.
"This case should act as a warning to landlords that if they ignore the law then we will take action against them."
The news comes as a Wiltshire plumber was handed a prison sentence for posing as a qualified gas fitter, further highlighting the need for care when selecting tradesmen to carry out gas detection and installation work.
Written by Chris Malone
