Poison gas alert at restaurants after 13 diners fall ill

RESTAURANTS are being warned to check gas equipment after 13 people were taken to hospital with carbon monoxide poisoning.

Staff at the newly-opened Preto restaurant, in Wilton Road, were alerted to the problem after one man began feeling sick and dizzy.

Ambulance crews checked diners with a pin prick test at the Brazilian restaurant. They found 12 others were suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning and six of them had high levels in their blood.

The gas can kill and early symptoms are headaches, sickness and tiredness. The leak last Friday came from a faulty fan. Westminster council is urging all restaurants to ensure gas equipment is installed and serviced by an engineer registered by Corgi.

Richard Block, operations manager for food, health and safety, said: "The restaurant has now been declared safe. It shows how careful any businesses which use gas need to be."

A spokesman for the restaurant said: "All our staff tested negative and [the fan] has now been refitted and checked by a Corgi engineer."

Carbon monoxide is a colourless, odourless gas. If an appliance is poorly installed or maintained it produces far more of the gas than normal.