A Chester landlord has been fined after ignoring repeated warnings about gas safety at a rented property.

Nahida Hashim was sentenced on 17 January 2013 after she failed to arrange for a registered gas engineer to visit a house on Queens Avenue between October 2009 and October 2011.

Chester Magistrates' Court heard that Hashim neglected to arrange annual gas safety checks for the property, putting tenants in danger, despite being contacted on several occasions about the issue.

The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) contacted Hashim on two occasions after she failed to respond to a request from a housing standards officer at Cheshire West and Chester Council asking to see a copy of the Landlord Gas Safety Record for the property.

Hashim was then issued with an Improvement Notice giving her 21 days to arrange a gas safety check and provide proof it had been carried out, but this was ignored.

Hashim pleaded guilty to breaching the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to arrange an annual gas safety check and failing to comply with an Improvement Notice. She was fined £400 and ordered to pay £1,000 in prosecution costs.

HSE inspector Martin Paren said: "Ms Hashim was given three chances to arrange a gas safety check at the property before we issued an Improvement Notice, but even then she still failed to take any action.

"Unsafe gas appliances are responsible for dozens of deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning in the UK every year. That is why it's a legal requirement for landlords to arrange checks.

"This case should act as a warning to landlords that if they ignore the law then they may find themselves in court."