A LANDLORD says a potentially fatal accident was avoided after a tenant left two gas hobs turned on when they left the flat.

Luckily, a member of staff noticed the smell of gas in the communal area of a block of six flats in the Gilesgate area of Durham and was able to raise the alarm.

The incident happened on Monday (Aug 24) afternoon when a member of staff from Durham City Homes was going about her day-to-day duties at the address just before 4.30pm

A team from Gas Emergency Services were called out and confirmed there were high concentrations of gas coming from one of the flats.

The tenant of the flat was not at home and the team set to work to notify all other residents in the block, making the area safe, isolating all electronic doors and ventilating the area.

Terry Hart, Mechanical Officer at Durham City Homes, said: “Thankfully we were able to get in touch with the tenant who was out at the time.

“When entering the flat, we found that two hob burners were omitting gas but were not ignited, and it turns out that they had been accidentally switched on earlier in the day.”

The gas was isolated by specialists and the property was fully ventilated before the tenant was allowed to go back in at around 6pm.

Durham City Homes, which manages around 5,800 properties as part of County Durham Housing Group, is reminding people to take care about gas safety and make sure all appliances are fully turned off when not in use.

If anyone thinks they can smell gas, they should call 0800-111-999 immediately and refrain from smoking, using naked flames or turning any electrical appliances on or off.