A FATHER believes his family are lucky to be alive after a gas cooker installed at their new build property in Newquay was not connected properly.

Casey Singleton, who lives at the Ocean Housing property at Pleasant View in Trevemper with his wife and three young children, telephoned the gas emergency service after they smelt gas in the kitchen on Saturday, March 14.

The engineer found a leak on the gas cooker and “promptly” isolated the pipe. He also reportedly discovered no olive seal had been put in place on the cooker to stop gas leaking, which could have caused an explosion.

Mr Singleton now fears his family’s lives have been put at risk since purchasing the property 18 months ago, which was built by Wain Homes.

His family have all been ill in that time, which Mr Singleton believes could be due to the effects of gas leaking from the cooker over several months.

Mr Singleton has suffered from headaches and backache since moving into the property whilst his wife Liliana has experienced regular headaches.

Their one-year-old son Ezra spent five days at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro after being diagnosed with dehydration and breathing difficulties whilst their six-year-old daughter Amara, has had a cough and suffers from asthma.

The only child that has not been ill since moving in is their nine-year-old daughter Skyla.

Mr Singleton and his wife Liliana are due to undergo blood tests to ascertain whether gas inhalation is to blame for their illnesses. If the test result comes back that it has, their children are also due to be tested.

Even if the test results come back as negative, he is angry the house was signed off as safe to move into and now wants to ensure the gas systems in the other Ocean Housing properties at the development have been connected properly.

Mr Singleton said: “It was a huge mistake. The emergency gas engineer said if the pipe had been knocked, we would have been dead in seconds. I’m amazed the pipe lasted as long as it did.

“My concern is that this mistake could have been life threatening. The job not being done properly can put lives at risk.

“How many more houses has this happened?”

Ocean Housing has agreed to carry out “thorough” checks of all 49 homes the company own on the Trevemper development as a precaution to “ensure residents remain safe.”

The social housing company agreed to cover the cost of the gas engineer Mr Singleton appointed to fix the fault as a “goodwill gesture.”

Frances Turner, the executive director of housing & communities at Ocean Housing, said: “We appreciate how frightening this must have been for Mr Singleton and his family. It should not have happened.

“The gas installation and original safety checks for his home were carried out by the developer, Wain Homes, using their registered gas sub‑contractor. We expect all developers we work with, and their accredited engineers, to comply fully with industry safety standards, and we insist on formal certification before any completed homes are handed over to us.

“We take our health and safety responsibilities extremely seriously and have been supporting Mr Singleton since we were made aware of the situation.

“We believe the issue to be isolated to his home.

“However, as a precaution, we are arranging thorough checks for all 49 homes we own on the Trevemper development to ensure residents remain safe.”

A spokesperson for Wain Homes said: “We take any concerns raised by customers very seriously.

“We have been made aware of an issue reported by the homeowner at Pleasant View, Trevemper, regarding the gas supply at the property. As the matter is currently under investigation, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.

“The safety of our customers is our top priority. We are reviewing the situation with the relevant contractors and specialists and remain in contact with the homeowner while this process is ongoing.”

Justin Bond, Wales & West Utilities Gas Emergency Service Manager for Newquay said: "We were alerted to reports of a smell of gas at a property in Trevemper over the weekend, and in our role as the gas emergency service, we immediately sent an engineer to the scene.

"On arrival, our engineer found a leak on the gas cooker at the property and promptly isolated the pipe, making it safe for the household. We carried out all our necessary safety checks in the property and found no further presence of gas and detected no problems relating to our network.

“Contacting us is always the advice we give if anyone smells gas, thinks they have a gas leak, or suspects carbon monoxide poisoning. We can be contacted on 0800 111 999, and our engineers will be there to help, day or night.”