Gas man supplies safety warning

AN Oldham plumber is warning the public not to be fooled by illegal gas fitters when a new safety scheme comes into force on April 1.

By law, only Gas Safe registered engineers should be employed to carry out work on gas installations or appliances — CORGI registration will not be valid.

That means the 120,000 engineers currently verified under the CORGI scheme will have to re-register so they can continue to work legally from April.

Dave Malin, from gas installers Advantis Home Maintenance, said: “I’m concerned that not enough people know about this and I’m distributing my own leaflets to warn people.

“I’m concerned that people will be duped because the CORGI badge won’t mean aything from April.

“I’m a gas fitter, plumber and electrician and I already do a lot of repairs on work carried out by cowboys.

“I fear many of the elderly are susceptible to con men who will be in a perfect position to pose as CORGI workers and will slip in to do illegal and unsafe work.”

A spokesman for the Gas Safe Register said public safety was the top priority.

Registered engineers will be identified with the new yellow Gas Safe Register logo, and every engineer will carry a Gas Safe Register ID card with their own unique licence number.

Ann Robinson, Gas Safe Register’s director of public awareness, added: “Gas safety is a life or death matter which affects the entire nation.

“As the new hallmark for gas safety in Great Britain from April 1, Gas Safe Register will raise public awareness of the dangers of using unregistered installers and explain how easy it is to avoid them by always using a registered engineer.

“If they are at all suspicious that a trader offering gas services is unregistered, they can prevent lives from being endangered by reporting the individual to the Gas Safe Register.

“We will work with the Health and Safety Executive and trading standards to investigate and take action against those trading illegally.”