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Kitchen fitter tried to cover up illegal and incompetent gas work

A kitchen fitter has been given a suspended prison sentence after he admitted carrying out gas work illegally and faking the details of a registered gas engineer.

Exeter Crown Court heard that Brian Squibb from Exeter, trading as BKS Kitchens and Bathrooms, was contracted to fit kitchens and signed an installer agreement giving the name of a Gas Safe engineer whom he said he would use for gas work. However, in summer 2019, Mr Squibb carried out the gas work himself at two properties in Exeter, falsely using another person’s name and registration number. He removed an existing natural gas hob, capped the gas supply, and failed to check for gas tightness.

The HSE investigation found that Mr Squibb had never had any competencies in gas work or been registered. However, on completion of the work, he produced documentation for the homeowners falsely using a registered gas engineer’s name and registration details.

Brian Squibb of Elizabeth Avenue, Exeter, Devon, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulations 3(1), 3(3) and 3(7) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 as amended. He was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for 24 months, and told to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay costs of £4,250.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE inspector Simon Jones said: “Brian Squibb undertook gas work, which he knew he was not registered to do. He then tried to cover up his unregistered and incompetent gas work by producing fraudulent documentation.”

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