Adam Evans, of Brownlow Road, New Ferry, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 36(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. At Wirral Magistrates’ Court on 8 October, he received a £2,400 fine and was ordered to pay £5,000 in costs, bringing his total court bill to £7,400.
The case involved a rental property on Salisbury Drive in New Ferry, Wirral, where a tenant and her five children had lived since 2016. No annual gas safety checks were carried out during her eight-year tenancy.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) began an investigation in October 2024 after Wirral Borough Council raised concerns. HSE inspector Ian Betley stated that Mr Evans "showed a complete disregard for the law and put the lives of a mother and her children at risk."
Mr Evans provided a gas safety certificate dated November 2024 following the intervention, but could not provide records for the preceding eight years. Landlords have a legal duty to arrange annual gas safety inspections by a Gas Safe registered engineer.