A HEATING engineer caused an explosion which wrecked a house and left the occupants badly burned after botching a simple job, Lincoln Crown Court was told.
Daniel Hickling left a hole in piping which caused gas to leak into the home of Martyn and Teresa Moody.
Hickling cut off and capped the protruding pipe and then buried it under the floor during the conversion of a former kitchen into a dining room.
But he punctured the pipe and failed to carry out a straightforward test which would have located the leak.
Hours later, the Moodys smelt gas and began searching their large detached house at Nettleton, near Caistor, for the source.
While checking one of the rooms, Mr Moody flicked on a cigarette lighter and the flame ignited an explosion which rocked the house.
The blast severely damaged the property with windows and doors being blown out.
Mr Moody spent two weeks in hospital being treated for serious burns and has been left permanently scarred.
His wife suffered burns to her legs and feet, and was released from hospital after two days.
The house was so badly damaged it had to be almost completely rebuilt and it was a year before the couple were able to move back in.
The rural property was supplied by an LPG tank in the back garden as it was not connected to the mains gas supply.
The court was told that Hickling, who ran his own heating and plumbing business, was not qualified to carry out gas work.
James Puzey, prosecuting for the Health And Safety Executive (HSE), said: "The defendant was incompetent to carry out this work and it was carried out incompetently.
"That led directly to an explosion which almost destroyed the property and caused serious injury to the householders."
He said Hickling did not reveal he was not a Gas Safe-registered engineer when he agreed to carry out the work.
Mr Puzey said a gas engineer, called in by the HSE, found a "significant leak" in pipework Hickling had buried under the floor.
Stephen Critchlow said Hickling should have carried out a "gas tightness test" before finishing the job which would have revealed the leak.
Mr Critchlow told the court he discovered the source of the leak and when he dug out the buried pipe he found a puncture hole he believed had been caused by a chisel.
Hickling, 32, of Howsham, in Lincolnshire, has pleaded guilty to three charges relating to the incident in July 2011, but is disputing the prosecution case that he knew he was working on gas pipes.
He admits carrying out work to an inappropriate standard, carrying out work while not registered with the Gas Safety Register and carrying out gas fitting work he was not competent of doing so in breach of the 1998 Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulation.
Hickling says he never put himself forward as a qualified gas engineer and did not know he was working on a gas pipe.
The trial of the issue of whether or not Hickling knew he was working on gas piping is being heard by Recorder Helen Malcolm QC sitting without a jury.
The hearing was adjourned to a later date – keep checking www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk and your Grimsby Telegraph for updates.
