The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a warning to families and homeowners across the UK regarding the escalating dangers of unregistered gas work, revealing a significant surge in prosecutions. Seventeen individuals have been convicted for illegal gas work in the past 18 months alone, prompting urgent calls to verify gas engineer credentials through the Gas Safe Register. This alarming increase highlights the critical risks posed by unqualified traders, which can lead to gas leaks, explosions, fires, and fatal carbon monoxide poisoning.
Seventeen convicted as HSE urges Gas Safe Register checks
The new figures, released by the HSE to mark Gas Safety Week (14 to 20 September 2026), underscore a worrying trend. Since the beginning of 2025, the number of convictions for illegal gas work has dramatically risen compared to previous years, with only three convictions in 2022/23 and four in 2023/24. Over the past five years, the HSE has successfully investigated and prosecuted dozens of individuals for breaching vital gas safety legislation by performing work on gas appliances without the necessary registration.
Unqualified gas work carries severe and often fatal consequences. Poorly installed or inadequately serviced boilers, cookers, and fires can become deadly hazards. Gas leaks can lead to devastating explosions and fires, while faulty appliances can emit carbon monoxide, a silent killer responsible for numerous deaths each year. The HSE stresses that cutting corners on gas safety, particularly as temperatures drop and heating bills rise, could prove to be a fatal error.
Gas Safety Week, now in its fourteenth year, serves as a crucial national campaign. It unites the gas industry, local authorities, and landlords in a collective effort to elevate public awareness regarding the paramount importance of gas safety. The campaign actively promotes the simple steps individuals can take to ensure their gas appliances are handled by competent, registered professionals.
Steve Critchlow, HSE’s Principal Inspector of Gas Safety, emphasised the gravity of the situation. “Gas Safety Week is the right time to remind people just how serious the risks of illegal gas work can be – and the rising number of convictions of rogue traders carrying out unregistered gas work should be a warning to everyone,” he stated. “As people start thinking about their heating ahead of winter, it’s exactly the right time to say: check your engineer is on the Gas Safe Register before you let them anywhere near your gas appliances. If they’re not on the register, don’t let them through the door.”
The HSE encourages everyone to take mere seconds to verify an engineer’s credentials. This can be done quickly and easily by visiting www.gassaferegister.co.uk, calling 0800 408 5500, or by simply asking to see the engineer’s official Gas Safe ID card. This simple check is a vital safeguard against potential dangers.
Among the recent prosecutions is the case of Alexander Robson, who fraudulently advertised his services on social media and with flyers, illicitly using a faked Gas Safe logo despite not being registered. Robson, operating under names such as GasnHeat Plumberz and North East Renovationz, undertook illegal and substandard gas work on boilers and gas fires at five homes across Blyth, Ryton, Hexham, Winlaton, and Newcastle. His actions directly endangered the lives of the residents in these properties. Robson was subsequently sentenced to eight months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, highlighting the legal repercussions for such dangerous practices.
The HSE urges anyone who suspects they have been a victim of a rogue gas trader or has concerns about illegal gas work to report it immediately. The organisation is committed to investigating and prosecuting unregistered gas fitters who jeopardise public safety.
This story was originally published by HSE Media Centre.
