Two property management companies have been fined for gas safety breaches that could have endangered tenants at a block of flats in Hampstead.

Essential gas checks were not carried out at the Westfield block in Kidderpore Avenue.

In one of the flats, run by Valbond Management, a flue joint had come apart and could have been leaking emissions for as long as five years.

Two further properties in the block, one managed by Valbond and the other by sister company Holbond, had gas boilers that were not maintained.

The companies, which are both based in Chandos Street, Marylebone, pleaded guilty to two charges each under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. Valbond was fined £28,000 and Holbond was ordered to pay £20,000.

Inspector James Caren of the Health and Safety Executive said: “The tenants at the flat where the leak was detected were not injured, but they were lucky not to have been exposed to high levels of carbon monoxide. Landlords have an absolute duty to ensure gas systems at their properties are safe.”