Santa's top tips

Christmas ‘the most dangerous day of the year’

Christmas is the most dangerous time of the year when it comes to gas safety in the UK – according to Gas Safe Register and the Fire and Rescue Service.

More fires in households with gas appliances take place on Christmas Day than any other day of the year, and Gas Safe Register’s investigation team find a higher proportion of dangerous gas appliances in December that any other month. A total of 17 per cent of boilers, fires and cookers investigated in December over the past five years have been found to be unsafe.

One-fifth (19 per cent) of households have not had their gas appliances checked this year, which means that 12 million people could be living with potentially dangerous gas appliances.

While the majority of festive revellers prioritise buying (64 per cent) and wrapping (41 per cent) presents, only 5 per cent put gas appliance safety checks on their December to-do list in the run-up to Christmas.

Almost three times as many people would rather watche their favourite Christmas film than make sure that they and their families are gas safe at Christmas (14 per cent).

Jonathan Samuel, chief executive at Gas Safe Register, says: “Although Christmas is a very busy time of year, it is really important your gas appliances have been checked and are running safely. Our data shows that December can be dangerous for homeowners, so Gas Safe Register is reminding people to get their annual gas safety checks in the diary to make sure this Christmas is a safe and enjoyable time.”

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