Gas engineer jailed after ignoring safety ban and taking payment for boiler work at Belfast home
Saturday 17 October 2026
A County Down gas engineer has been jailed for six months after carrying out illegal gas work at a Belfast property despite being subject to a prohibition notice preventing him from undertaking such work.
Ian Campbell, trading as M.G.B Gas and Building Services, was sentenced at Laganside Crown Court on Friday 16 October after pleading guilty to three health and safety offences and a separate charge of fraud by misrepresentation.
The court heard that Campbell removed a gas boiler from a Belfast property in May 2024 while he was not registered with the Gas Safe Register, despite having been formally prohibited from carrying out gas work more than two years earlier.
Prohibition notice ignored
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) established that Campbell had been served with a prohibition notice in February 2022, preventing him from undertaking gas work until his training and registration were brought up to date.
However, the notice remained in effect when he removed the boiler from the Belfast property in May 2024.
Investigators established that Campbell received payment for the work, but no replacement boiler was installed at the property despite payment having been received.
The prosecution was brought following an investigation by HSENI, with prosecutors from the Public Prosecution Service's Fraud and Departmental Section working alongside the safety regulator.
Previous prosecution for similar offences
At the time of the Belfast incident, Campbell was already subject to a separate ongoing prosecution involving unregistered gas work at a property in Bangor, County Down, in November 2022.
He was subsequently fined and sentenced for those earlier offences in June 2024.
The latest case resulted in Campbell receiving four concurrent six-month prison sentences, meaning they will be served at the same time rather than consecutively.
Three sentences related to breaches of health and safety legislation, while the fourth concerned fraud by misrepresentation under Section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006.
Warning over potentially unsafe gas installations
Following the sentencing, HSENI Major Investigation Team Inspector Kiara Blackburn warned that unregistered gas work can put homeowners, tenants and other members of the public at risk.
She said:
“Ian Campbell undertook gas work which he was not registered to do. This is not only a breach of the gas safety regulations, but it also places members of the public, homeowners, and tenants at significant risk from potentially unsafe gas installations.”
How to check a gas engineer is registered
Gas engineers and businesses must be registered with the Gas Safe Register to carry out gas work legally.
Homeowners and tenants are encouraged to check an engineer's current registration before allowing them to undertake work on gas appliances or installations.
Registration can be checked through the official Gas Safe Register website at www.gassaferegister.co.uk.
The case highlights the importance of checking an engineer's credentials before work begins, particularly where gas installations could present serious safety risks if handled by someone who is not legally authorised to carry out the work.
