Well,
why not? After all, the punishment isn’t going to be much, is it?
The gas pipes were cut from the outside of the property, where the woman, who is deaf, lives with her three-year-old daughter.
The action caused gas to flow into their home.
"The awful smell hit me as soon as I opened the front door," said the woman, who asked not to be named.
"There was a haze in the air which had a blue tinge to it.
"Normally my daughter charges into the house ahead of me and switches on the lights, but fortunately she didn't do that on this occasion.
"I dread to think what could have happened if she had, or if someone had walked past the house smoking a cigarette. "
Still, there’s one way of preventing this from happening in future, isn’t there?
The woman sent a text message to her mother, who then alerted gas engineers who went immediately to disconnect the supply to the house.
She now faces a repair bill of up to £1,250 because she has chosen to have her gas pipes installed inside the house instead of on an exterior wall.
The company with which her house is insured has said that it will not pay to cover the extra work.
You’d think they’d be happy to do it, rather than risk having to pay out for a destroyed house!
Sergeant Simon Barnes, of Hinckley Road police station, said there had been a number of similar incidents in the area over the past few months.
He added that a thief was jailed recently for a series of similar thefts.
"We are going to end up with a house being blown up because the pipe has been cut and there has been a spark," he said.
Ah, well, if that happens, you can always go out and
arrest some poor gas repair man, can’t you?
I've said it before: unless and until infrastructure thieves are treated appropriately, then things like this will continue to happen. The way to nip it in the bud is to hit the scrap dealers. Make them petrified to accept metal without full provenance, and ban cash payment. I know all the arguments that this would destroy the scrap metal market, but I very much doubt an adequate cost-benefit analysis has been done. I wouldn't mind betting the industry could sort out a workable accommodation to stricter regulation. I'm normally militantly opposed to further government interference in a market, but there is a clear failure here.
ReplyDeleteI assume the insurance company will be refunding her premiums in full then, seeing as they are refusing to cover her?
ReplyDeleteThey are the biggest thieves. Bastards.
Moment! If the pipe is CUT on the outside of the house, assuming the gas supply does not come FROM the house, HOW does the gas get into the house, and not simply escape into the OUTSIDE air?
ReplyDelete" I know all the arguments that this would destroy the scrap metal market..."
ReplyDeleteFrankly, given the potential losses to other revenue streams, I think it's one we could afford to lose.
"I assume the insurance company will be refunding her premiums in full then.."
Do they ever?
" If the pipe is CUT on the outside of the house, assuming the gas supply does not come FROM the house, HOW does the gas get into the house, and not simply escape into the OUTSIDE air?"
I wondered that too!
Obviously I don't live an exciting enough life - they seem to have all the fun.
ReplyDelete