A LANDLORD was fined £2,100 yesterday for installing a dangerous gas boiler and fire.

Russell Thompson, 51, of Hersham Close, Gosforth, Newcastle, who owns 25 properties in the Gateshead area, was fined at Gateshead Magistrates' Court after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to five charges relating to the appliances.

The court heard how Thompson fitted a damaged boiler at Poplar Crescent, in Bensham, Gateshead, despite not being qualified.

The boiler had not been properly maintained, an annual safety check had not been completed and his tenant had not been given a gas safety certificate.

Gerry Rutter, an inspector with the Health and Safety Executive, told the court: "It has to be assumed that gas safety checks at Thompson's properties have not been made and the lives of those tenants must be at risk."

Richard Savage said in mitigation that the tenant who complained to the authorities, Micheala Loudon, was the daughter of Thompson's lover.

Ms Loudon and her four-year-old son had been homeless and Thompson had agreed to put her up at a property he had not intended to rent out.

Mr Savage said Thompson, a landlord for more than 20 years, fitted the boiler as an emergency measure.

He later tried to have it fixed and attended to properly, but Ms Loudon did not allowed either him or Corgi-approved fitters to enter after a family dispute.

Thompson was fined and ordered to pay £516 in legal costs.

He told the court that he was planning to sell all his properties.

l The Northern Echo started its Silent Killer campaign to highlight the dangers of carbon monoxide, which is a deadly, odourless gas produced by faulty heating equipment.

It causes symptoms including recurring headaches, nausea, sickness or stomach pains, general tiredness and fatigue.