Hundreds of families in Ipswich are potentially sitting on ticking timebombs, it was claimed today, as shock new figures reveal more than a quarter of homes in the town are fitted with unsafe gas appliances.

Data compiled by gas safety authority, the Gas Safety Register, through investigations shows Ipswich has the fourth highest proportion of homes with dangerous appliances at 28%.

Bosses at the organisation have now called on homeowners to make sure they have their appliances checked as they could be at risk of a number of incidents including explosions, fires or carbon monoxide poisoning.

Russell Kramer, chief executive for Gas Safe Register, said: “Gas safety is a life or death matter and something that shouldn’t be ignored.

“People are aware of the potential risks of unsafe gas work and they know what they should be doing to keep themselves safe, but as our research has found, not everyone is acting on that information. “

The research has been published to mark Gas Safety Week, which is running thie Sunday, with the organisation also publishing an interactive gas map to show some of the most dangerous postcodes in the country.

The map shows that 337 properties in the Ipswich area investigated by the register were found to have unsafe appliances, which includes cookers, boilers and fires.

It is feared that cowboy gas fitters who claim to be legal engineers may also be contributing to the alarming figures.

Mr Kramer added: “This is why we have launched the gas map. It is the first time that data on unsafe gas appliances and illegal gas work has been compared across postcodes in Great Britain.

“We want people to realise that gas safety is something that they should take seriously and by bringing it to their doorstep it makes it harder to ignore.”

Nationally, Birmingham was labelled the most dangerous city with 34% of households being fitted with unsafe products while Brighton was labelled the safest area with just 5%.

For more information about gas safety week, or to find a registered engineer, visit www.GasSafeRegister.co.uk or call 0800 408 5500.