Unregistered gas fitter who put lives at risk avoids jail

Building worker Jonathon Taylor left a gas hob leaking at a house in Shrewsbury and wrongly installed a gas flue at a house in Stafford.

In both instances, the shoddy workmanship could have led to the deaths of people living there, either from fire, explosion or carbon monoxide poisoning, Stafford Crown Court heard.

Mr Tim Pole, prosecuting, said Taylor had never been trained to do the jobs and he knew full well he was not registered with the Gas Safety Council.

Taylor, aged 43, of Owen Terrace, Broseley, Shropshire, who admitted five breaches of health and safety regulations, was given a four-month prison sentence, suspended for a year. He was also ordered to do 150 hours unpaid community work and to pay £6,296 costs.

Judge Mark Eades told him: "You carried out this work when you were not competent and not registered. You knew that, but you chose to do it because it represented profit."

Mr Pole said Taylor took on a £776 job to install a new gas hob at Dingle Cottages in Shrewsbury, the home of tenant Michael Buxton. After the work was finished, Mr Buxton could smell gas and there was a scorch mark on the work surface.

The defendant was called back several times but at first claimed there was no problem and then blamed a faulty hob. An engineer from Zanussi came out and saw a flexible gas hose was loose. There should have been a rigid one.

"The engineer said that in 20 years of working he had never seen a loose connector like that," said Mr Pole. The engineer sealed off the gas supply to the hob.

But Taylor 'rubbished' the engineer's report and promised to fix the problem. However Mr Buxton was unable to contact him and eventually had to get a local firm in to finish the work off safely.

While Taylor was still embroiled with the work in Shrewsbury, he got the contract for a £38,000 extension in Lichfield Road, Stafford, the home of Mr Paul Harris, his wife, their two children and her father-in-law.

Taylor was to oversee the work which started in August 2013 but he carried out the pipework to the boiler himself, then demanded a further £6,000 for it. Mr Harris refused to pay and Taylor left the job.

"Mr Harris was left with a shell requiring a considerable amount of work. He was also concerned about the quality of the gas work," said Mr Pole. A gas inspector attended in May last year and found three defects with the installation of the flue.

The following month Taylor was served with a prohibition notice by the gas safety watchdog, banning him from doing any further gas work.

In the meantime, Mr Harris put negative feedback on a website called Ratedpeople.com where he had found Taylor's business details. "He was sent a letter by this defendant's solicitors threatening to sue if the comments weren't removed," said Mr Pole.

Taylor was questioned by the Health and Safety Executive last May. He admitted he was not gas safety registered, while claiming he was pressured by Mr Buxton to do the gas work. He said he could not remember what work had been done on the gas flue in Stafford.

Mr Pole told the judge: "Death or serious injury were risked by these offences."

Mr Paul Smith, defending, said: "My client does accept responsibility, he accepts what he did put people at risk. Mercifully, there was no injury or death in this case."

The court heard that Taylor has since been made bankrupt and is now employed in general building work.