A plumber from Bude has been fined for carrying out illegal and unsafe gas work that potentially endangered lives.

On 19 December Bodmin Magistrates’ Court heard that Matthew Congdon a director of Coastal Plumbing and Heating Ltd, claimed to be on the Gas Safe Register when in fact his registration had actually expired.

Following an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), it was found that Mr Congdon had undertaken at least two complete boiler installations and a gas fire installation after his registration ended in May 2013.

He had claimed to still be a member and continued to use the Gas Safe Register name and logo on his work vehicle and in local press and online adverts. He undertook a number of landlords’ gas safety checks for a managing agent in Bude, making them believe that he was a member of the Gas Safe Register, both verbally and on documents produced.

Magistrates were told that a Gas Safe inspector found 33 separate instances on the two boiler installations and gas fire installation where the workmanship was not to the current standards and not to the manufacturer’s specifications. It included work on a gas inlet pipe that was classed ‘At Risk’.

On 9 September this year HSE issued Mr Congdon with a Prohibition Notice to stop him falsely claiming to be a Gas Safe Register member. He was given until 12 September 2014 to remove the logo from his van. However, Mr Congdon’s van was seen still displaying the Gas Safe Register logo on 7 November.

He was fined a total of £5,000 and ordered to pay costs of £418 after pleading guilty to three separate breaches of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and a single breach of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He was also ordered to pay £700 compensation to a homeowner.