Suspended prison sentence for unregistered gas worker
A man who illegally fitted central heating boilers at two houses in Greater Manchester has received a suspended prison sentence, after he admitted he did not have the required safety registration to do the work.
Christopher Dignam, trading as Blue Flame Plumbing & Heating Services, has never been on the Gas Safe Register, the body which ensures those who carry out gas work are competent to do so.
One of the two boilers fitted by him in November and December 2014 was found by a Gas Safe investigator to be at risk, meaning faults were present which could constitute a danger to life or property.
Advertisements for Blue Flame Plumbing & Heating in two local publications showed a Gas Safe Register logo and a registration number which does not belong to Dignam, confirming that he knew he should be Gas Safe Registered, the court heard.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Caroline Shorrock said: “Dignam showed a reckless and flagrant disregard for health and safety requirements. He knew he should be registered with Gas Safe and he exposed customers to a risk of serious injury or death.”
Dignam, of Kenyon Lane, Middleton, Manchester, pleaded guilty to two breaches of Regulations 3(3), and for breaching 3(7) and 26(1) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. He was sentenced to 12 months’ custody, suspended for two years. He was ordered to pay £460 and £400 compensation to the two homeowners and £3,000 costs.
This is awful, why would he be given a suspended sentence when its blatant. There is too much of this trades people advertising as certified/time served/ or providing guarantees which turn out as personal guarantees and not worth the paper they are written on. But this is the icing on the cake!
By Mary Smiley