CAMPAIGNERS are calling for tougher sentences for cowboy gas fitters after an unregistered workman was fined just £400 for the botched installation of a gas fire.

Chester-le-Street couple Maurice Watson and Margaret Dinning found their health deteriorate rapidly after fitter Richard Corkhill installed a gas fire in their home.

Deadly carbon monoxide (CO) fumes seeped into the living room within hours, leaving Margaret gasping for breath and light-headed.

At Chester-le-Street magistrates court last week Corkhill, 32, of Rae Avenue, Wallsend, pleaded guilty to three charges of faulty installation and one of carrying out work while not registered to the regulatory body CORGI, in February 1998.

John Briggs, prosecuting for the Health and Safety Executive, said: "The fire was first used in anger in the July and both noticed an odd smell coming from the fire and Margaret in particular began to feel ill, so they turned it off."

The court heard how Corkhill failed to install an isolation valve that turns off the gas in emergencies, failed to place the gas pipe in a protective sleeve and made the flu too narrow - an oversight that saw deadly CO gas spill out into the living room of the house in Deleval, Chester-le-Street.

Echoing the Silent Killer campaign of the Advertiser's sister paper, The Northern Echo, Mr Briggs warned of the dangers of CO gas. He told the court: "It's an insidious poison - it doesn't smell and you can't hear or see it. Around 30 people a year die as a result of CO poisoning."

Corkhill was fined £75 each for two charges of faulty installation and one of carrying out unregistered work, £175 for installing an unsuitable flu and ordered to pay £548 court costs.

Stephen Graham, defending, said his client only carried out two fire installation jobs but admitted he wasn't up to speed on the latest safety regulations.

After the case, Margaret Dinning said: "I felt ill almost as soon as the fire was turned on. I think it's disgusting that he only has to pay around £1,000 - it could have killed us."

Barrister Stephanie Trotter, president of CO Gas Safety, said: "I've offered to talk to magistrates about the seriousness of this for years but I've been ignored. I think more dodgy workmen should be prosecuted and tougher sentences brought in, give them community service as well as a fine. It's also about time that a helpline was set up for people who suspect they might have been poisoned."