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My dad has just paid £50 for a compact gas bbq. It is the type where the flame is under a metal plate, which heats up and thus cooks the food which is placed on the grill above the plate. i.e. there are no "coals" to heat up and distribute the heat.

When he put any food on it the fat ran out, fell on the plate, went through the holes and caught fire, sending flames up to burn the food. No matter how low the flame was set the same problem occured. Also the far right hand side of the grill produced no heat at all.

I have only ever cooked on "proper" charcoal bbq's and was wondering if this was normal behaviour for a gas fuelled machine?

yes this is normal.  Some barbecues get around it in two ways:

1) Grill plate on whichyou cook the food is solid not allowing any fat to drip onto flames

2) Where grill plate on which you place the food is slatted, underneath this is a metal try on which you can put ceramic or lava rocks.    The fat drips onto this an burns off without burning the food above.  For large amounts of fat yopu just have to move the food off till the fat burns away

The same thing happens with coal by the way.  You can spary some water to put the fat fires out.

No, I use a George Forman gas bbq. It has a tray that hooks onto the back to collect the fat and it heats up evenly all across the plate without hot or cold spots. I have had traditional and gas bbq's but this is the best of the lot. Does the plate have a cut out at the back? this is where the tray should hook. Is the flame burning even across the burner before you put the plate on? If not the jets could be blocked and may need a blow out with compressed air.

Mike