Unqualified Wolverhampton kitchen fitter to pay £6,000
A kitchen fitter has been fined £4,000 for carrying out potentially dangerous gas work despite not being qualified.
Stewart Pitt, aged 41, could have put lives at risk by the botched jobs in Wolverhampton, magistrates heard.
Mr Wayne Owen, prosecuting on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive at Stafford Magistrates Court, said Pitt, when investigated, admitted he hadn't carried out tests to check if there were any gas leaks at a property in Coven.
On one occasion at a house in Wombourne the occupants complained a work unit fitted above a boiler by father-of-four Pitt became 'worryingly hot'.
Mr Owen said: "Around 10 people a year die from carbon monoxide poisoning from gas fittings and many more suffer breathing difficulties. The cost to gain an engineer's licence is £2,500 then there are also additional costs for training.
"The defendant didn't have this licence and carried out work at three homes around Wolverhampton. He put those customers and anyone who entered their homes at risk."
He pleaded guilty to four breaches of the health and safety act while working at three properties across Wolverhampton. Mr Richard Dewsbery, defending, claimed that Pitt's colleague had a gas engineers's licence and would check if work was satisfactory.
He said the three homes in question in Wombourne, Compton and Coven his work partner either hadn't turned up to the job or had given the gas works the all-clear.
The charges related to work carried out in August and September 2011.
Pitt, of Sytch Lane, Wombourne, was fined £4,000 and ordered to pay £2,000 in court costs.
