A Barnsley takeaway owner has received a suspended sentence and ordered to pay a fine after failing to follow an improvement notice on gas safety.
Gursel Ozcan, 55, pleaded guilty to the charges at Barnsley Magistrates Court and was sentenced to 26 weeks in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to pay £2000 towards council costs and a £122 victim surcharge.
The court heard how an improvement notice was served in March 2019, as Mr Ozcan failed to safely maintain his gas system in Kebab Express, Peel Street, Barnsley. Improvements were needed as he failed to operate a safe system of work for gas catering equipment, and operated cooking equipment without adequate ventilation.
In October 2019, Mr Ozcan had been told by a gas engineer that his gas installation was at risk. The gas supply was switched off, but the defendant continued to use it without further safety checks. As of 13 January 2020, the court was told that no work had been started to make the gas installation safe.
Cllr Jim Andrews, cabinet spokesperson for public health, commented: “By ignoring essential health and safety requirements or cutting back on essential maintenance, managers of businesses are putting people’s lives at unnecessary risk and they rightly face a heavy punishment when they are caught.”
