An unregistered gas fitter put his customers' lives at risk by leaving a new boiler in a dangerous condition, a court has heard.

Ben Littleton, 24, from Fowey, was not Gas Safe registered when he installed the boiler in March last year. He also illegally carried out safety checks for landlords at two properties in the town.

A registered gas engineer checked Mr Littleton’s work and classed the boiler as “at risk” before alerting the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), which prosecuted him at Truro Magistrates on Friday 14 March.

The court heard that Mr Littleton had installed boilers at two homes, one of which had an incorrectly sealed flue, meaning carbon monoxide could have re-entered the property posing a risk to the residents.

HSE’s investigation also found that Mr Littleton had carried out gas safety checks for landlords on two rented properties in Fowey. He faked safety documents by using a Gas Safe Register ID number belonging to a properly registered company that had previously employed him.

Mr Littleton pleaded guilty to three breaches of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and was fined a total of £2,000 and ordered to pay £2,159 in costs.