Plumber handed suspended sentence for gas work
AN ESSEX-based plumber has today been sentenced after carrying out unsafe and unregistered gas work in September 2016.
Basildon Crown Court heard how Andrew Goodchild, of ASG Plumbing and Heating had been served with a Prohibition Notice (PN) by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) earlier that year for carrying out gas work whilst not being registered with Gas Safe.
Mr Goodchild ignored the requirements of the PN when he removed a gas cooker and pipework from the kitchen and moved a gas boiler, in Leigh-on-Sea in September 2016 leaving it in a dangerous condition. He had not become registered with Gas Safe Register and did not possess the necessary qualifications for carrying out gas work.
Andrew Goodchild of The Maples, Harlow, Essex pleaded guilty to breaching the Prohibition Notice and Regulation 3(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and was found guilty in a Newton hearing of breaching Regulation 3(1) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. He has received an 18 month suspended sentence, ordered to carry out 250 hours of unpaid work and pay £3,200 in costs.
Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Saffron Turnell said: “Mr Goodchild showed a clear disregard for the law and put a number of people’s lives at risk. Carrying out gas work is difficult, specialised and potentially very dangerous. It is therefore vital that only registered gas engineers, who are trained and competent, work on gas appliances and fittings.”
