Barry Newman, the only real dealer of Foster Brother Developers, used to be given a 12-month suspended sentence and instructed to finish 240 hours of unpaid paintings.
Newman had reduced in size a Nottingham guy to hold out refurbishment works on a belongings in Bulwell. As a part of the ones works, Newman, 58, had positioned a inaccurate transportable house heater, attached to a liquid propane gasoline (LPG) cylinder, within the belongings’s cellar to dry out damp.
Alternatively, on 22nd November 2022, a gasoline leak from the heater led to an explosion – inflicting the 51-year-old guy to undergo serious burn accidents to his palms, legs, face and scalp.
An investigation by way of the Well being & Protection Govt (HSE) discovered that Newman failed to hold out a chance evaluation and supply appropriate and adequately maintained apparatus for the paintings being undertaken.

The producer’s directions for the kind of heater used obviously state that it’s only to be used in well-ventilated spaces and that LPG cylinders will have to now not be saved underneath flooring. It is because the gasoline is heavier than air and can accumulate on the decrease degree if there’s a leak
Barry Newman of The Quay, Beeston Marina, Nottingham pleaded in charge to breaching Law 4(3) of the Provision and Use of Paintings Apparatus Rules 1998. At Nottingham Magistrates’ Court docket on 19th June 2025 he used to be sentenced to twelve months imprisonment, suspended for 2 years, used to be ordered to finish 240 hours of unpaid paintings locally, and required to pay prices of £2,000.
HSE inspector Roy Poulter stated after the listening to: “This gasoline explosion has left one guy not able to paintings because of the seriousness of the wounds sustained and it would have simply led to somebody dropping their lifestyles. This situation will have to function a robust reminder to these within the development business at the risks of running with gasoline and the want to assess the chance, and simply how severe each HSE and the courts take screw ups like this.
“HSE will take motion towards those that don’t do all that they may be able to to stay other folks secure.”
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