wrote in message
ps.com...
Hey Folks,

I recently had to replace a ring main socket in a part of the house
that was re-wired 20+ years ago by an ex-electricity board inspector.
I was surprised to see that the earth connectors, instead of being
wired into the socket, were twisted together along with a flying earth
and connected to the earth connector in the metal box. The flying
earth alone went to the socket. None of the earths were sheathed!

I recall sheathing for earths being introduced, which would probably have
been about 30 years ago. Wiring the earths to the backbox terminal used to
be done to ensure that the earth circuit was less likely to be damaged when
the final fit was to take place, usually in a new build, after other trades
had been working in the area. Modern backboxes have fairly small capacity
terminals, which would make that difficlut to do.

Colin Bignell