I could have died

Joyce Yeoman, of Springfield Street, Darwen, said her daughter and her next-door neighbour could also have been poisoned as they watched a film in her front room.

Mrs Yeoman, 46, who also suffers from emphysema and upper airway dysfunction, said she had two severe asthma attacks in the weeks after the fire was installed by David Barton, in May last year.

The mother-of-three, spoke out after Barton, 66, of Isherwood Street, Blackburn, pleaded guilty to two charges of contravening the gas safety installation regulations at Blackburn Magistrates and was fined £800 with £700 costs. The court was told that a subsequent safety check by Health and Safety officers revealed that the flue for the fire was wrongly fitted and carbon monoxide was spilling into the room.

Magistrates were told that the incident could have killed someone, although Barton's solicitor insisted there was no direct link between the faulty installation and Mrs Yeoman's admission to hospital.

Mrs Yeoman, a mother-of-three, said: "I could have died. I know I am slowly dying now, but that could have been the end of it."

Mrs Yeoman, a chronic asthmatic for 20 years, watched a late night film in front of the fire with her daughter Danielle, 17, and neighbour Joanne Brine, 28, the day after the fire had been installed. The three fell asleep but Joanne woke at 3am and they then went to bed.

The following day Mrs Yeoman put the £380 fire on but found herself suffering from short breath and was taken to Blackburn Infirmary in an ambulance.

"When I came home after a week I put the fire on and there was a terrible smell."

After just five hours in her house Mrs Yeoman said she suffered another asthma attack and was back in hospital for a further three days.

Joanne said: "If I hadn't woken up I don't think any of us would have woken up."

In court Alan Meyer, prosecuting on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive, said Barton, a Corgi registered installer, had installed the fire as a contractor for a company called the Fireplace Workshop. He said the relevant tests had not been carried out after the installation and the suitability of the flue had not been checked.

"This incident could have resulted in a fatal accident ," he added.

Andrew Church-Taylor, defending, said that since the incident Barton had retired. He said he had successfully completed the first part of his annual Corgi examination but had not continued with the second part because of the impending prosecution.

He said Barton had been employed in the gas industry for 35 years and there had been no previous complaint about his work.

Mr Church-Taylor said that since the incident Barton had lost confidence and had not worked in the gas industry.

"At 66 years of age it is not the end of his career that he foresaw," said Mr Church-Taylor. He said it was not suggested that Mrs Yeoman's admission to hospital had been a direct result of the faulty installation.