One in ten homes in Luton are at risk of gas fires, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning, according to new figures from the Gas Safe Register released on Monday.
The first nationwide interactive gas map shows the most dangerous postcodes in the country for gas safety, and reveals 15 per cent of Luton’s households are unsafe.
Inspectors visited 11,000 homes in the East of England for the research ahead of Gas Safety Week this week.
Russell Kramer, chief executive for Gas Safe Register, said: “Gas safety is a life or death matter and something that shouldn’t be ignored. People are aware of the potential risks of unsafe gas work and they know what they should be doing to keep themselves safe, but as our research has found, not everyone is acting on that information. This is why we have launched the gas map. It is the first time that data on unsafe gas appliances and illegal gas work has been compared across postcodes. We want people to realise that gas safety is something that they should take seriously and by bringing it to their doorstep it makes it harder to ignore.”
One in three gas customers in the UK admit they’ve never had their gas appliances checked or maintained, despite 82 per cent of people knowing they should.
Luton residents are also being caught out by cowboy gas fitters who pretend to be legal engineers despite not being registered.
Of those illegal jobs investigated in the East of England, nearly two in three left victims’ homes unsafe and almost one in five were so dangerous that the gas appliances had be turned off immediately.
Find out how safe your area is www.staygassafe.co.uk