A GAS fitter is facing jail for killing two people including a Port Talbot man in a botched repair job on a central heating system.

Gas installer Peter Tongue was today found guilty of the manslaughter of the pair, who died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Tongue was paid £60 to fix widow Margaret Powell's warm air heater - but left it in a "potentially lethal" state.

Twelve days later Mrs Powell, aged 72, and her close friend from Port Talbot, Gwyn Morgan, aged 74, were found dead in the three-bedroomed bungalow.

The pair of friends were overcome by carbon monoxide gas as they sat together on the living room sofa.

Prosecutor Peter Davies said: "Mr Tongue carried out repair work on the central heating appliance at Mrs Powell's home.

"The central heating appliance was examined and found to be congested with soot.

"As a consequence it was giving out carbon monoxide in lethal quantities.

"Tongue is guilty of gross negligence - had he done his job properly the deaths would not have occurred."

The jury heard how Corgi-registered gas engineer Tongue, aged 60, had worked in the industry "man and boy".

Grandmother Mrs Powell, an optician's receptionist, paid Tongue £60 to repair the faulty heater at her home in Brecon in December 2006.

Mr Morgan, of Port Talbot, South Wales, was staying with Mrs Powell just before Christmas that year after the couple had become friendly over the previous six years.

When the couple were found their dinner of jacket potatoes was still in the oven and an uncooked pizza was on the kitchen table.

Tongue, of Brecon, denied two charges of manslaughter and five charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act. But he was found guilty of all charges by the jury after more than eight hours of deliberation at Cardiff Crown Court.

Tongue told the jury he believed he had done a competent job in cleaning Mrs Powell's boiler.

After cleaning the boiler, and vacuming soot away, Tongue said he carried out a smoke test which the boiler passed.

Christopher Quinlan, defending, asked him: "At the time of carrying out the work you had done, did you believe you had done a competent job?"

Tongue replied: "Yes."

When asked whether he was "indifferent or couldn't care less" about the risk to others, Tongue replied: "No."

Tongue was released on bail to be sentenced later. But Judge Mr Justice Lloyd Jones KT told him: "A custodial sentence is almost inevitable."