A caravan park owner has been fined 23,500 for exposing her tenants to deadly carbon monoxide fumes.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) successfully prosecuted a caravan park owner for health and safety breaches and is warning landlords to check the safety of gas installations in their properties.

Tina Gavin of Doncaster, was fined £16,000 and ordered to pay £7,500 costs on March 25, after being found guilty of breaching Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Leaking gas and dangerous levels of carbon monoxide were found in three of the 30 mobile homes owned by Gavin.

The discovery was made by HSE inspectors in September 2006 after Gavin's tenants complained about smelling gas in their homes and reported gas appliances repeatedly malfunctioning.

None of Gavin's tenants had been given a landlord's gas safety record.

A CORGI registered engineer visited the homes and reported serious problems with the gas installations at almost every one of the mobile homes inspected. One mobile home was found to have scorch marks on the carpet in front of the gas fire and a bathroom water heater which constantly cut out because it was making too much carbon monoxide. Despite his complaints to Gavin, nothing was done.

The HSE is urging all landlords to ensure annual checks by a competent registered gas installer

HSE Inspector Chris Chambers said: 'This case is one of the most flagrant breaches of gas safety issues in relation to health and safety law that I have ever dealt with.

'Ms Gavin was putting the lives of her tenants at grave risk. Fortunately the situation was discovered before somebody died as a result of the dangerous gas installations'.