A council has been fined £14,000 for putting a family at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning from a faulty gas fire.

Karla Johnson, 16, and sister Corrien, 14 months old at the time, were taken to hospital amid fears they were suffering from the effects of the gas, Brighton Magistrates' Court heard yesterday.

Brighton and Hove Council and contractor Ecovert South Ltd were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive after it was found the appliance at the family's council home in Southall Avenue, Brighton, had not been checked for more than a year.

The council admitted three offences under the Gas Safety Regulations and the Health and Safety at Work Act. It was also ordered to pay £2,446 costs.

Ecovert admitted two offences under the Gas Safety Regulations and was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £1,630 costs. The company terminated its contract with the council in May.

After the hearing, mother-of-four Linda Johnson said: "This could have killed me and my children and I will never, ever forget that. We had a very lucky escape."

Russell Adfield, prosecuting, told the court: "The system of operation was flawed and presented a situation where many hundreds, maybe thousands, of the council's tenants were left at risk of exposure to potentially dangerous gas appliances."

He told magistrates Ms Johnson alerted the council's emergency call-out service after she turned on her gas fire and a burst of flame flew out the front.

An engineer detected dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, an odourless poisonous gas which can kill.

The council is legally required to ensure its 11,500 premises which contain council-owned gas appliances are safe and checked at least every 12 months.

But 2,296 premises were not checked between April 1999 and March 2000 and there were no records of checks at another 1,100.

The council's head of housing, Gary Thurston, said: "We fully accept responsibility for the breakdown of checking procedures and resulting risk to tenants.

"These shortcomings have been addressed as a matter of urgency."

There is now a gas hotline on 01273 293193 where residents can get advice if they are worried.