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Roofing contractor prosecuted after unauthorised gas work put lives of elderly couple at risk (21 July 2014)

Date: 21/07/2014
Duncan Lewis, Personal Injury Solicitors, Roofing contractor prosecuted after unauthorised gas work put lives of elderly couple at risk

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has prosecuted a roofing contractor, after elderly householders were put at risk when work on their chimney stack proved faulty.

In August 2011, the couple from Black Swan Lane in Luton, Bedfordshire, had contracted John Stanley, 47, from Luton to resolve water ingress between a double chimney stack and roof tiles of their home.

Work carried out by Stanley’s team blocked the chimney above the gas fire, however, leading to a potentially-dangerous leak of combustion fumes within the property’s loft space.

An HSE investigation found that Stanley’s employees had dismantled the old double chimney to just below roof-tile level, before making repairs to roof timbers and felt, and then rebuilding the single chimney stack.

The roofers failed to check that the flue for the gas fire in the property’s back living room was still in full working order, however.

The HSE found that this chimney had been blocked as a result of the firm’s work in rebuilding the chimney stack, rather than the chimney belonging to the disused and boarded-up fireplace in the couple’s front living room.

In November 2012, the couple had called Gas Safe to check the gas fire in that room, which they had problems igniting.

HSE subsequently found that the gas fire had been in use for more than a year, with all the fumes rising into the loft over the couple’s bedroom, instead of dispersing through the flue and chimney.

The faulty work had left the elderly couple at serious risk over an extended period of time – when a very simple smoke test would have highlighted the issue straight away after completion of the work.

On Monday, 14 July at Luton Magistrates Court, John Stanley of Hitchin Road in Luton – trading as King Roofing and Durable Plastics – pleaded guilty to one breach of Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Stanley received a four-month prison sentence suspended for two years – and was ordered to pay £500 compensation to the elderly couple he had put at risk.

After the hearing, HSE Inspector Robert Meardon said:

“John Stanley’s sub-standard work created an on-going breach –
and a prolonged risk to the safety of a vulnerable and elderly couple.

“It cost them a huge amount of unnecessary anxiety – and a considerable amount of money to rectify, on top of their savings they had used to pay Mr Stanley for the work.

“When a chimney is the flue for a gas fire, it is a vital part of the gas installation and should only be done by a competent gas engineer on the Gas Safe Register,” Mr Meardon advised.

“Mr Stanley advertised himself as a specialist roofing contractor – but he was never on the Gas Safe Register and not qualified to carry out gas work.

“He should have never undertaken this job knowing that a gas fire was linked to the chimney.

“This incident could have resulted in fatalities, as gas fire fumes can contain poisonous carbon monoxide, which can kill.

“It is vital that building contractors are aware of the risks they create and comply with the laws in place to control the risks,” said Mr Meardon.

Duncan Lewis Personal Injury Solicitors

Duncan Lewis is a leading firm of personal injury solicitors and can advise on how to make a no win no fee Faulty Product Claim for injuries sustained as a result of negligence relating to household items – such as chemically-treated sofas, baby’s cots and children’s toys, household equipment or DIY tools.

Faulty Product Claims can also include faulty home installations, including faulty boiler installations, dangerous gas installations, or poor-quality building work which causes injury.

Personal injury claimants usually have three years from the date of injury in which to claim – children can make a claim up to the age of 21 after sustaining an injury.

For expert legal advice on no win no fee Faulty Product Claims, contact Duncan Lewis personal injury solicitors on 020 7923 4020.


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