Bude plumber, Matthew Congdon, was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for the second time within four months for undertaking gas work while he was not registered with Gas Safe Register.
Mr Congdon was found guilty of breaching Regulation 3(3) and 33(1)(c) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and Section 33(g) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. He was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months.
Mr Congdon had previously been prosecuted by the HSE and had pleaded guilty in December 2014 for undertaking gas work while he was not registered, for falsely using the Gas Safe Register logo and for breaching an HSE Prohibition Notice and he was fined £5,000.
Two days before, Mr Congdon pleaded guilty in December 2014 he installed another gas boiler at a residential property in Bude. By doing so, he breached another HSE Prohibition Notice. The gas boiler that he fitted had not been installed to the manufactures instructions and had not been commissioned which means that it was not safe to use.
After the hearing, HSE inspector, Simon Jones, said: “Mr Congdon showed utter contempt for public safety when he continued to undertake gaswork when he knew he should not. Previous gaswork by Mr Congdon had been found to be substandard and posed a danger to the public.”