A 75-year-old gas installer from Essex was slapped with a suspended prison sentence and 150 hours of community service last week for botched gas work on a swimming pool.

William Saint from Chelmsford, was prosecuted after several failed attempts to install a gas boiler at a home in Brightlingsea.

He did the work but the boiler continued not to work and when a British Gas engineer was later called, the installation was immediately flagged up as dangerous.

The Health and Safety Executive said the work was illegal because he was not registered with the Gas Safe Register which is required by UK law.

Colchester Magistrates’ Court heard on Friday (1 May) that despite getting advice from a Gas Safe Register engineer, Mr Saint failed to rectify all of the faults, said the HSE.

After the case, HSE Inspector Vicky Fletcher said: “William Saint was well aware that he should be registered with Gas Safe Register in order to carry out gas work, yet he still chose to flout the law.

“People can die as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning and gas explosions. It is therefore vital that only registered gas engineers, who are trained and competent, work on gas appliances and fittings.”