THOUSANDS of people living in houses built by Story Homes are to have their chimneys inspected.

The firm has written to 4,500 customers, explaining that the checks are part of a safety review, prompted by "an issue" with a chimney housing a gas fire in one partly-built property.

Bosses insisted no hazard has been identified with the firm's houses but they want to carry out the checks because customer safety is a top priority.

The firm refers to what it says is a "potential" issue.

In its letter, the company says: "We have recently been made aware of a potential issue linked to some of the chimneys housing gas fires installed in some Story Homes properties.

"As a consequence, we are now undertaking a precautionary review of the flue protection surrounding gas fires in some of our properties.

"This was a one-off incident in an unoccupied plot and we have had no customer complaints to date regarding this same issue."

The letter asks home owners to not use their gas fire until a check has been carried out.

Electric fires are not affected, says the firm.

The letter points out that the issue is not linked in any way to a gas leak, or the safety of gas appliances and there was no reason to believe there is a risk to people living in Story Homes properties.

The letter adds: "Accordingly, if you do have a gas fire in your home, Story Homes will carry out an inspection of the flue and will undertake any required improvements at no cost to the homeowner."

In a statement, the firm's chairman and chief executive Fred Story told the News & Star: "Whilst inspecting an unoccupied plot which was still under construction, we identified a potential issue linked to the chimney housing the gas fire installed in the property. This was a one off incident and was not linked to gas fumes or other appliances and therefore would not cause ill-effects to any of our residents. We have had no customer complaints to date regarding this same issue.

"As a consequence of this we have taken a proactive approach and we are undertaking a precautionary review of the flue protection surrounding gas fires in all of the properties we have built, going back a number of years.

"While there is no confirmed hazard in any of our customers’ homes, their safety is our top priority.

"We are committed to doing the right thing by ensuring that all customers are made aware of this potential issue, and that all plots with a chimney hosting a gas fire are inspected to help us to provide a solution to any issues if they are identified. We have set up a dedicated project team to focus on this.

"We are grateful that our customers have worked with us to provide the information we need to help us plan what will be a large scale project to inspect each home which has a gas fire."

He added that Story Homes had reviewed its processes to ensure the issue is not repeated in the future.

It is not known how long it will take to complete the checks, nor where the properties involved are.