CORGI Warns: Don’t become a statistic this Easter
Thursday, 20 March 2008
Easter headlines are always full of statistics – 100 million chocolate eggs sold, two million making their getaway at the airports and the 6.5 million cars expected on the road. One list of statistics you definitely don’t want to feature in is the number of people who have suffered an accident from DIY projects.
This Easter CORGI is calling for all ‘DIY’ers to leave gas work off their ‘To Do’ list and to leave it to a CORGI registered expert.
CORGI’s head of safety promotion Dan Caesar, said:
“When it comes to taking on home maintenance projects over Easter, there are many that you can in fact do yourself – however, unless you are a CORGI registered installer, you should not even be thinking about tampering with a gas appliance.
“If you DIY with a gas appliance, you run the risk of causing a potential gas leak, explosion or poisoning from carbon monoxide. The only absolutely safe option when it comes to fixing gas appliances is to call in a CORGI registered professional”.
Each year around 30 people are killed and hundreds more are injured from carbon monoxide poisoning as a result of faulty gas appliances that have been installed incorrectly or not had regular maintenance.
Research that CORGI has conducted over the years has proved young homeowners and renters aged between 16-24 are most at risk from carbon monoxide poisoning or explosions. This is because this age group is more likely than any other to try and get a friend or relative to fix their faulty gas appliance before they call in a CORGI registered installer.
Women are the worst culprits for trying to get friends or relatives to help them fix gas appliances before calling in a professional. Men on the other hand, are more likely to try and fix a faulty gas appliance themselves.
To find a CORGI registered installer in your area visit: www.trustcorgi.com or call CORGI on 0800 915 0480.
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