Court demands stove fitter must appear on poison danger charges

Accusation: Crown refuses to accept email that contained plea

A Fife businessman has been ordered to appear in court to face accusations he wrongly fitted a stove at a house in Angus and put the occupants at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Justin Jackson was not at Forfar Sheriff Court when the case, which relates to alleged incidents at two separate properties last summer, called yesterday.

The 47-year-old, of Whinpark Place, Newburgh is charged with knowingly or recklessly failing to meet professional standards while fitting a stove at a property in North Esk Road, Edzell between June 18 and July 28 2016.

The charge alleges Jackson failed to provide a carbon monoxide detection system and put the occupants at risk of poisoning by failing to secure a joint connecting the flue liner to the chimney cowl.

He is also accused of fitting flue pipes and a liner with a diameter less than that of the stove outlet, failing to install an air vent or provide adequate air gaps around the stove and failing to provide an information label to alert future workmen to the specifications of the installed system.

Jackson is also charged with knowingly making a misleading statement on his website that Stove Safe was located in Perth.

The offence is alleged to have been carried out on August 25 at a house in Hill Terrace, Arbroath.

He is also accused of making a further misleading claim on his website that services were provided by “a team of HETAS qualified installers with more than 15 years’ experience”, knowing that to be false too.

Fiscal Jill Drummond said Jackson had submitted an email to the court indicating an intention to plead guilty to one of the three charges on the complaint but said that was not acceptable to the Crown.

Sheriff John Rafferty continued the case without plea until October 12 for Jackson to be personally present.

Justin Jackson will have to attend Forfar Sheriff Court over charges connected with the faulty fitting of a stove and of making misleading claims on his website. Picture: Kim Cessford.