Gas Boiler Question With Photos

[mizfiesta]

My gas boiler stopped working last Wednesday (9th Nov). An engineer called out to investigate and seemed taken aback by what he found inside. He said he hadn't come across this issue in all his time as an engineer.

He asked if I had had the boiler serviced recently, which I have, every year (I'm in a housing association property so they organise it for me annually). He seemed surprised that the issue with the boiler wasn't picked up before it got to the state it was in.

There was a part within the boiler cabinet that had basically melted. The engineer said something along the lines that there possibly had been a heat shield (or words to that affect) that hadn't been fitted - possibly as early as the original boiler installation around 9 years previously.

I just wonder how dangerous this could have been. I've attached photos of the part which the engineer removed from boiler before he capped it. Should be getting it repaired tomorrow after days without heating and hot water :-( Feed back appreciated.

http://i65.tinypic.com/2ci9qh1.jpg

http://i68.tinypic.com/149a803.jpg

[bednobs]

does it matter how dangerous it could have been - it wasn't thank goodness