Another plumber has been given a suspended prison sentence for carrying out gas fitting work while not on the Gas Safe Register.

With two such cases in the past two weeks, it is clear the courts are offering no leniency to those who ignore the gas safety regulations.

The latest case concerns Christopher Dignam, trading as Blue Flame Plumbing & Heating Services in the Manchester area. He advertised in local publications showing a Gas Safe Register logo and a fake registration number. He is not, and has never been, registered.  Work carried out by him was also found to be faulty.

Dignam, who lives in Middleton, pleaded guilty to two breaches of Regulations 3(3), and for breaching 3(7) and 26(1) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. He was sentenced to 12 months custody, suspended for two years. He was ordered to pay £460 and £400 compensation to two homeowners as well as £3,000 costs.

His case comes a week after Walsall plumber Alan Nicholas Price was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years, for carrying out work without being registered.

And last month a Darlington man was jailed for 18 months for pretending to be a Gas Safe engineer and signing official records in the name of a legitimate gas engineer.