Gas fitter faces jail over deaths

A gas fitter convicted of causing the deaths of two elderly friends, who died of carbon monoxide poisoning after he failed to fix a central heating boiler properly, was facing jail today.

The bodies of Margaret Powell, 72, and 74-year-old Thomas Morgan were found slumped on a sofa at Mrs Powell's home in Brecon, mid Wales, on December 16, 2006.

A jury found 60-year-old self-employed gas engineer Peter Tongue, of Llanspyddid, near Brecon, guilty of two counts of manslaughter and six offences under the Health and Safety Act. He is appearing at Cardiff Crown Court today for sentencing and has been told a jail term was inevitable.

The court heard Tongue carried out work on Mrs Powell's boiler on December 4, 2006. When the boiler was later examined, part of it was found to be congested with soot and giving out carbon monoxide in lethal quantities.

The court was told Tongue did not understand the type of appliance he was working on and took no steps to find out what he should do to fix it safely.

He was Corgi registered, but his registration to carry out work on the type of boiler Mrs Powell owned had lapsed in 2003.