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Wakefield builder fined for dangerous gas work

A family was put in danger after a local builder carried out defective gas fitting work while constructing an extension to their home, a court has been told.

Nigel Parker illegally modified the flue of a gas combi-boiler, extended pipework and moved the bayonet fitting for a gas cooker. He also left a gas meter unsafely perched on a plank above trenches that had been dug for the extension.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE), which brought the prosecution, told Dewsbury Magistrates that the self-employed builder was hired to build the extension to the semi-detached property in Batley and started work at the end of September 2009.

During excavations, the incoming gas main was cut through. The gas authorities were called and they repaired the pipe but disconnected the supply as the gas meter had been left supported dangerously by just a wooden board spanning the excavations for the building's footings.

Mr Parker later used the wrong type of parts, did not tighten joints enough and used duct tape to hold things in place.

Parker, of Haigh Moor Road, Tingley, who traded as Tingley Joinery and Building Services, pleaded guilty to three breaches of the Gas Safety (Installation & Use) Regulations 1998 between 1 October 2009 and 20 April 2010, and a further breach on or before 9 October 2009. He was fined a total of £5,000 with £1,620 costs.

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