Brothers admit faulty fire work

The brothers admitted 28 charges between them

Two brothers who sold and fitted gas fires have admitted carrying out defective work that safety watchdogs said could have killed someone.

Lee and Stephen McHugh, both from Merseyside, admitted 28 charges as part of a Health and Safety prosecution.

Lee McHugh owned Embers Fires, in Abbey Foregate, Shrewsbury, where he sold gas appliances and passed installation work on to his brother Stephen.

The pair will be sentenced next month at the town's crown court.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) began investigating in 2006 after a customer reported concerns.

It is a matter of chance that nobody was killed or seriously injured by reason of the defective work James Puzey, prosecutor

Its investigation concluded that Stephen McHugh, 36, of Ridgewood Drive, Pensby, allegedly carried out installation work while not registered with the appropriate professional body.

The work he carried out was defective and left customers at risk while both men also breached prohibition notices, the HSE said.

His 34-year-old brother Lee, of Village Road, Higher Bebbington, was accused of failing to check if a person was registered with the Council for Registered Gas Installers (Corgi) installed gas appliances.

At an earlier hearing, the court heard that the brothers had sometimes used their cousin's legitimate Corgi registration number, without his knowledge.

Speaking after the hearing, a Corgi spokesman said: "We encourage all registered installers to present their ID card to customers before they start any work.

"Similarly we encourage all consumers to ask to see the card of anyone working on their gas equipment."

He added that the organisation was working hard to drive out "cowboys" from the industry.