Cowboy gas fitters – Know the facts

20 million households across the country use gas for heating, hot water and cooking, yet we often take it for granted that our boilers, cookers and gas fires are safe. It is only when there is a problem with an appliance that many of us take any notice at all.

In the right hands gas is perfectly safe, but in the hands of an illegal gas fitter it can kill. All gas fitters in Great Britain have to be Gas Safe registered by law. While the purse strings are tight, many of us may be tempted to get a friend who dabbles in DIY or odd job man to fix the boiler or put in a new gas fire. But you could be putting you and your family at serious risk.

Research on illegal cowboy gas fitters in Great Britain reveals that they are doing a quarter of a million gas jobs each year. Gas Safe Register estimates that at least 7,500 hard core illegal gas fitters are doing these jobs without the skills or the qualifications to work on gas. Illegal gas work can lead to gas leaks, fires, explosions and exposure to carbon monoxide – which can all cause serious injury or death.

Watch our video with The Home Show presenter George Clarke and Phill Brewster from the Gas Safe Register to learn how to protect your family from illegal gas workers.

For more information visit: GasSafeRegister.co.uk/illegals