Preston eaterie is fined £40,000 after inspectors find a serious gas leak wrapped in tin foil.

A restaurant that wrapped a leaking gas pipe in tin foil and used burning napkins to light the oven has been fined £40,000.
East Z EastEast Z East
East Z East

East Z East on Church Street, Preston, admitted two health and safety flouts relating to faulty equipment which put employees at risk, including a hotplate with a gas leak.

Preston City Council inspectors visited on October 27, 2016 to discover the leak was wrapped in tin foil.

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They also found staff were dropping a burning napkin into a broken tandoori oven in order to light it because the gas ignition was broken.

The firm was unable to give gas safety certificates to show their equipment was regularly maintained.

Inspectors previously served Prohibition Notices on the business, which prevented them from using the equipment until it had been deemed safe by a Gas Safe Engineer.

The magistrates bench said it was “speechless” to discover the restaurant, which has residents in the premises above, continued to operate with a known gas leak and a severely dangerous way of lighting the oven.

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The restaurant must pay £3,749.50 costs and a £170 surcharge.

Jonathan Cruickshank, senior environmental health officer, said: “It is a legal requirement for all businesses to ensure their gas equipment is maintained by a gas safe engineer. This usually involves an annual inspection and businesses will be issued with a certificate.”

The council issued 26 prohibition notices for gas safety in the last three years, including 16 for unsafe methods of lighting tandoori ovens, and eight for gas leaks.