A home extension built straight over live gas pipework — and a boiler flue left discharging into the new room — has landed a Bradford building firm and its director in court. It's a stark reminder that on domestic jobs, planning failures can put a family's lives at risk.
What happened
According to the HSE Media Centre, Adam's Building Construction Ltd was fined after botched work on a Bradford extension compromised gas safety. The company had been hired to build an extension at the rear of a homeowner's property, with construction starting in January 2024. The extension was built over the existing gas service pipework, and without repositioning the flue serving the property's gas boiler — exposing the family to the risk of gas leaks, fire, explosion and carbon monoxide poisoning.
HSE's investigation found that on 22 May 2024 a Building Control Inspector attended and discovered the boiler flue was terminating inside the extension. Northern Gas Networks found the installation immediately dangerous, with the boiler still running and the flue discharging into the extension. The gas supply had to be cut off, leaving residents without gas for several weeks and costing around £4,000 to put right.
Crucially, the source reports the company had been warned several times by Building Control that the pipework and flue needed relocating. The director was also unable to show HSE that construction phase plans had been prepared for any of the firm's work — all of which was for domestic clients. HSE served an Improvement Notice requiring a system for producing written construction phase plans; the company then failed to comply.
At Leeds Magistrates Court on 7 August 2026, the company was fined a total of £10,000 with £4,263 costs. The director, Mohammed Adam Azhar, was fined £1,000 with a £400 victim surcharge. HSE Inspector David Beaton called it "a tragic accident waiting to happen" and said everyone in control of domestic building work must ensure a suitable and sufficient construction phase plan is in place before work begins.
Why it matters to contractors
There are two lessons stacked on top of each other here. The first is technical: services get in the way of building work all the time, and gas pipework and flues cannot simply be built around or buried. They must be properly relocated by a competent person before you enclose them.
The second is the one that turned a site problem into a prosecution — paperwork. Working for domestic clients does not exempt you from CDM 2015. If you're the principal contractor, a written construction phase plan is required before work starts. The absence of one here wasn't a filing oversight; it reflected a job that hadn't been thought through. And ignoring Building Control warnings, then failing to comply with an Improvement Notice, only compounded matters.
What to check on your site
- Locate all live services before you start. Gas, electric and water — mark them, and plan how each will be protected or relocated.
- Never enclose a flue or gas pipe without a Gas Safe engineer relocating it first. A flue terminating inside a habitable space is immediately dangerous.
- Write a construction phase plan for every job where you're principal contractor — including domestic work. HSE's free CIS80 template is a good starting point.
- Act on Building Control feedback in writing. Record what was flagged and what you did about it.
- Never ignore an HSE Improvement Notice. Non-compliance is a separate offence in its own right.
- Keep records you can produce on request — plans, assessments and correspondence.
Which SafetyPod documents help
Getting your planning paperwork in order is straightforward. If CDM duties feel murky, start with our plain-English CDM 2015 explained guide, which covers when a construction phase plan is needed and what you'll be asked for.
For mechanical and gas work, the Plumber & Heating Risk Assessment Pack covers pipework, boilers and hot works. And to make sure nothing's missing before you start, run through our health & safety documents checklist.
These templates are editable tools to help you plan and record your work properly — they don't make anyone compliant on their own, but they give you a solid, professional starting point.
The takeaway
Plan the job, protect the services, and keep the paperwork straight. Not sure which documents your work needs? Try our free H&S Document Checker and start from there.