A plumber from Essex has received a 12-month suspended prison sentence and 180 hours of unpaid community service after his firm fitted a dangerous boiler in what was to be a child's bedroom at a house in Clacton-On-Sea.
Following a joint investigation by Gas Safe and the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), Lee Lawrence, trading as Amber Plumbing Solutions, was taken to court and charged with three breaches of gas safety regulations.
After the installation, the boiler had refused to work properly over several weeks and the concerned householders contacted a Gas-Safe registered engineer. The engineer immediately condemned the boiler as unsafe and alerted Gas Safe Register.
On 28 August, Colchester Magistrates' Court heard that an inspection by a Gas Safe regional investigations officer found seven defects directly attributable to the work organised by Lee Lawrence and undertaken by Amber Plumbing Solutions.
A district judge was told the firm had carried out some bathroom work for the householders and were asked to return to carry out gas work in March 2011. The work involved the installation of a gas cooker and moving a boiler upstairs, to a bedroom intended for use by a child.
The boiler was connected in July but kept cutting out, prompting the residents to contact a Gas Safe registered engineer. He was so concerned about the standard of work that he contacted Gas Safe and HSE was alerted.
HSE found that the advertising flyers produced by Lee Lawrence for Amber Plumbing Solutions displayed the Gas Safe logo and the firm's website falsely stated that Amber Plumbing Solutions was a Gas Safe registered company.
Mr Lawrence was found guilty of two breaches of Regulation 3 (7) of the Gas Safe (Installation & use Regulations) 1998 and a breach of Regulation 4 of the Gas Safety regulations. He was ordered to pay £5,400 in compensation to the householder and £2,385 costs, in addition to his suspended prison sentence and hours of unpaid community service.
Following the hearing, HSE Inspector Edward Crick said: 'Mr Lawrence showed a blatant disregard for the safety of his customers. A registered gas engineer had no hesitation in labelling the boiler as an immediate danger to life or property. Installing it in what was to be a children's bedroom was reckless beyond belief and could have had tragic consequences.'
