HSENI | The HSENI has prosecuted a County Down based gas engineer for breaches of health and safety. Ian Campbell, trading as M.G.B Gas and Building Services, has been sentenced to six months imprisonment after pleading guilty.
An investigation arose following a notification to the HSENI that Ian Campbell had removed a gas boiler from a property in Belfast in May 2024, despite not being a registered gas engineer with the Gas Safe Register. The work was undertaken by Mr Campbell despite the fact that a prohibition notice, served on him by the HSENI in February 2022, which prohibited him from carrying out any gas work until such time as his training and registration was up to date, was still in effect.
The investigation found that the gas boiler was removed by Mr Campbell from the property in question and payment was received by him for the work. No new boiler was installed at the property, despite payment being received.
At the time this gas work was undertaken, Mr. Campbell was subject to a separate ongoing prosecution case for similar breaches of the Gas Safety Regulations following unregistered gas work at a property in Bangor, County Down, in November 2022. Mr. Campbell was later fined and sentenced for these offences in June 2024.
Speaking after the hearing, HSENI Major Investigation Team Inspector Kiara Blackburn said: “Ian Campbell undertook gas work which he was not registered to do. This is not only a breach of the gas safety regulations, but it also places members of the public, homeowners, and tenants at significant risk from potentially unsafe gas installations.”
Prosecutors in the PPS’s Fraud & Departmental Section worked closely with the HSENI Ireland to build a robust prosecution case.
A further charge of fraud by misrepresentation was presented by the PPSNI. Mr. Campbell also pleaded guilty to this charge.
