PLUMBER Daniel Hickling has been given a suspended jail term for carrying out illegal gas work that led to a massive explosion at a couple's home.
Martyn and Teresa Moody both suffered severe burns in the incident in Moortown Road, Nettleton.
Hickling, 32, trading as DGH Plumbing And Heating, was hired by the couple to reduce the height of two redundant LPG gas pipes in an old kitchen, which was being converted into a living room.
Hickling left a hole in piping which caused gas to leak into the home.
He cut off and capped the protruding pipe and then buried it under the floor during the conversion.
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 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 on July 21, 2011.
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.
A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found Mr Hickling had never been registered with Gas Safe and was not qualified or competent to carry out the work.
Hickling, of Main Street, Howsham, Lincolnshire, admitted breaching Regulations 3(1), 3(3) and 5(3) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998.
Yesterday, at Lincoln Crown Court, he was given an 11-month prison sentence, suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work and pay costs of £2,000. HSE inspector David Butter said: "Anybody who carries out work on gas pipes or appliances without being on the Gas Safe Register is breaking the law. Daniel Hickling endangered the lives of this couple as soon as he began work.
"They are extremely lucky to have survived."
