A Yorkshire-based building company and its director have been sentenced after botched building work on a home extension compromised gas safety and put the lives of a homeowner and her two children at risk.
Adam’s Building Construction Ltd had been hired by the homeowner to build an extension at the rear of her property in Bradford. Construction began in January 2024, but the extension was built over the top of the existing gas service pipework, without repositioning the flue serving the property’s gas boiler. This exposed the family to the risk of gas leaks, fire, explosion and carbon monoxide poisoning.
A Building Control Inspector attended the property and discovered that the boiler flue was terminating inside the extension. He contacted Northern Gas Networks, who found the gas installation to be immediately dangerous, with the boiler still in operation. The gas supply had to be cut off, leaving the residents without gas for several weeks and costing them around £4,000 to put right. The investigation also found that Adam’s Building Construction Ltd had been warned several times by local authority Building Control Inspectors during the works that the gas pipework and flue needed to be properly relocated. The company’s sole director, Mohammed Adam Azhar, was unable to show that his company had prepared construction phase plans for any of its building work.
Adam’s Building Construction Ltd, of Leeds Road, Bradford, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) and Section 33(1)(g) of the Act. The company was fined a total of £10,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,263. Mohammed Adam Azhar, of Intake Road, Bradford, pleaded guilty to breaching Section 37(1) and Section 33(1)(e) of the Act. He was fined a total of £1,000 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £400.
HSE Inspector David Beaton said: “This was a tragic accident waiting to happen. The failure on the part of the company and its director to properly plan this building work, and to make suitable arrangements for relocating the gas pipework and appliances, could have easily had fatal consequences.”