Gas firm fined after OAP hurt

A GAS firm was fined £5000 after an elderly woman fell through a hatch in a kitchen floor left open by one of its employees.

The 89-year-old Edinburgh woman tumbled through the hatch, which had been left unguarded by Progas Heating Ltd.

The gas replacement contractor, based in Stirling, was hit with the fine at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday.

Progas employees were moving the gas meter from the inside of the woman's property to the outside.

An existing hatch in the kitchen floor was opened to allow access for the workmen.

The hatch was left open and unprotected, except for the closed kitchen door.

The woman walked into the kitchen to cook her lunch and fell more than five feet through the open hatch, sustaining three fractures to her left ankle.