(I googled till my eyes went funny without finding anything even half relevant on this; uk.d-i-y FAQ ditto ... hope it's not common knowledge)
Getting some quotes for re-wiring my oldish house which has numerous sockets mounted in the skirting boards. Most of the skirtings are 170mm high, made up of 130mm vertical and the rest bevelled, and the sockets are therefore about 30mm up off the floor to the lowest point of the plastic.
The first contractor tells me that the latest wiring regulations prohibit sockets in wooden skirting boards, on the basis that if a "hot" fault develops - not uncommon, I know - then they are an obvious fire hazard. Therefore all the sockets need to go up into the plaster, though since it's a re-wire I don't need to put them _way_ up, as would be required in a new building.
The second contractor says that the important part is how high the socket is off the floor: too low and the cable can be kinked tightly as it comes out of the bottom of the plug top and also chafe on the floor. If the skirtings were modern tiny ones, he says, the sockets would have to be moved but as it is we're OK.
Can someone help me (a) with an authoritative opinion, or (b) a reference to the relevant section of the regs? I may be able to go and look at them in a library.
(I'm not without some knowledge in this matter, having re-wired two houses decades ago)