Data from Gas Safe Register’s Investigation’s Team has revealed the top ten cities in the UK at risk of living with dangerous gas appliances from illegal gas work.
The data highlights that central London tops the list with three quarters (75%) of illegal gas work found to be unsafe. Supporting this, The London Fire Brigade’s latest figures highlighted that in 2017 firefighters were called out 569 times for carbon monoxide (CO) related incidents.
With this in mind Gas Safe Register, with support from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and charity Project SHOUT, is highlighting the dangers of using illegal gas fitters, as having unsafe gas appliances can result in CO poisoning, gas leaks, fires and explosions.
Gas Safe Register’s research found that within the last five years, two thirds (66%) of gas work carried out by illegal gas fitters across the UK was found to be unsafe. However, in the last year, this figure has increased to almost seven in every ten appliances investigated (69% since April 2017).
Jonathan Samuel, chief executive of Gas Safe Register, said: “The findings from our investigations show how dangerous illegal gas work can be. Don’t cut corners and always check you are using a Gas Safe registered engineer so you’re safe in the knowledge that they are legally qualified to work in your home.”
During 2017, the HSE had issued more than £800,000 in fines and prosecutions have resulted in a combined five years of jail time.