The two gas tanks installed by Peppi’s kiosk next to a public garden in Sliema are no longer considered a hazard and the owner has the required permit, Sliema mayor Nikki Dimech said yesterday.

I’m no expert but if everyone is telling me there is no danger, I cannot say there is one. We did our job and reported the complaints to the authorities. They concluded there is no danger. So I have to rely on that decision,” he said.

Last week, he had said the tanks posed a threat but his hands were tied because the police were the only ones who could take action where the public’s safety was concerned.

But yesterday, Peppi’s owner Silvio Zammit went to the local council to show he had the necessary permit for the tanks and Mr Dimech spoke to the authorities concerned to get to the bottom of the case. He concluded everything was in order.

“We received the permit from Mr Zammit himself despite the fact we had been requesting such information from the Land Department since March,” Mr Dimech said.

The council’s executive secretary Josef Gauci explained he had made a complaint to the police some months ago and received a reply soon afterwards saying the police had investigated and found the tanks posed no danger.

This contradicts what the police told The Times last week, that the only complaint they received was about the tanks being an eyesore.

The police’s media unit had said they were only told everything was in order by enforcement officers from the department who investigated the kiosk’s permits.

The police have yet to reply to questions to clarify their position.

The tanks are connected to the shop by a metal pipe painted in yellow, which is exposed on some steps next to the kiosk, raising fears it could easily be tampered with or damaged.

When contacted last week Mr Zammit was adamant every precaution had been taken and he had all the permits for the tanks: “This was done for the public’s safety. Before I got the permit you have no idea how many things I had to do.”

He said he had a certificate from the Malta Resources Authority and that before, he had eight cylinders and another 10 stored as back-up, which were not safe under today’s regulations.

He stressed the tanks were properly installed by his engineers and authority experts.