A turf war over soot

Two rival chimney sweeps fell out over who gets to clean Manchester's fireplaces. The row got ugly enough to end up in front of the body that polices UK web domains.

Backstabber of the year

David Sudworth, who founded Mr Soot, says his competitor Sparkling Flues pinned that label on him and parked it on a web page for anyone to find.

“Welcome to Mr Soot - Back stabber of the year”

A Wigan firm moves east

Sudworth built Mr Soot in Wigan, then started pushing into Greater Manchester. He says that is when two websites appeared carrying material aimed squarely at him.

“offensive and derogatory content”

Two domains, one target

The addresses mr.soot.co.uk and mrsoot.co.uk both funnelled visitors to the mocking page. Neither belonged to Mr Soot, but both carried the name.

The photoshopped medal

The page paired the insult with a picture of Sudworth holding a doctored medal. The engraving on it was not flattering.

“Premium Quality T, T 100%”

Meet Sparkling Flues

Emma and Paul Roddy launched Sparkling Flues in 2015 under their company Living Innovations, working the Manchester patch that Mr Soot was moving into.

A text message in 2021

Nominet heard that a Living Innovations director texted Sudworth expressing dissatisfaction that he was expanding into areas the company already covered.

Two weeks later

Just over a fortnight after that message, the backstabber page went live. Sudworth ties its arrival to a commercial dispute with his direct competitor.

His case: sabotage and trademark

Sudworth argued the sites were built to damage his business, and that they used Mr Soot, a trademark he owns, with no right to it.

The defence they ran

Living Innovations said the domains were not abusive because they were never offered for sale and never used to promote a competing chimney sweep business.

Exceptional personal circumstances

The company also told Nominet its directors had been going through a hard time, and that the link to the derogatory page had since been taken down.

“experiencing exceptional personal circumstances”

The watchdog was unconvinced

Nominet decided Living Innovations almost certainly knew Mr Soot existed before it went and registered the two domains.

“more likely than not”

Customers would be fooled

The expert found the addresses would lead people to believe they had reached Sudworth's company rather than a rival's insult page.

“inherently likely to confuse”

The domains change hands

Both sites were ruled damaging to Sudworth's trademark rights and transferred to him. mrsoot.co.uk now redirects to the official Mr Soot site, and the other throws an error.

“unfairly detrimental”

Ten years of brand building

Sudworth said the Mr Soot name has taken almost a decade to build and was worth defending in front of the expert.

“It has become a byword for trust and professionalism, so it is important that it is properly protected.”

The training centre boast

Mr Soot has offices in Manchester, Liverpool, Preston and Stockport, plus a HETAS-approved training centre in Wigan that Sudworth calls an industry first.

“We were the first chimney sweeping company to establish its own HETAS-approved training centre”

Roddy draws a line

Paul Roddy issued one short statement after the ruling and left it at that. Sparkling Flues was also approached for further comment.

“We respect the expert's decision and do not intend to pursue the matter further.”

From accounting to chimneys

Emma Roddy quit a 20 year accounting career to become what was billed as Manchester's only female chimney sweep, after her husband started installing ovens.

“It can be quite hard going but you just roll up your sleeves and off you go.”

She has left the trade

Back in 2015 she talked about loving the variety of the work and the standards it demanded. It is understood she no longer works as a chimney sweep.

“It can be quite a filthy job but your hygiene has to be very good.”

Why the patch is worth fighting for

Chimney sweeping is booming. High energy bills are sending families back to open fires, sharpened by worries that Russia could target gas and electricity supplies.