A heating engineer has been fined after putting residents at risk by removing asbestos lagging without taking proper precautions.

Self-employed Karl Locher pleaded guilty at Trafford Magistrates Court to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Mr Locher, 48, of Minet Drive, Hayes, Middlesex, removed old pipes lagged with asbestos using an electric saw while he was installing a new heating system.

He then carried the materials through the property and deposited them on a driveway.

The court heard that Mr Locher had no asbestos-awareness training. Experts said he shouldn’t have carried out work until the pipes had been shown to be asbestos-free or had been taken away by a licensed contractor.

Instead, he dismantled them without taking precautions to prevent exposure to asbestos fibres by himself or others.

The occupiers of the home were forced to move out while the property was thoroughly decontaminated.

Mr Locher was fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £3,000 costs.

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