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Gas Deaths Inquest Hears Of 'Botched' Work

Gas Deaths Inquest Hears Of 'Botched' Work

Two children died from carbon monoxide poisoning while on holiday in Corfu after "botched" work allowed fumes from a faulty boiler to seep into their bedroom, an inquest has heard.

Bobby Shepherd, six, and his seven-year-old sister Christi, from Horbury in West Yorkshire, were found dead by a maid the morning after they began feeling unwell.

The children's father, Neil, and his now-wife Ruth, were in a coma when they were discovered nearby in the bungalow on the Greek island.

As the children's inquest began in Wakefield more than eight years on, jurors were told by one expert that a boiler connected to the building was in such bad condition that it would have been shut down in Britain.

Coroner David Hinchliff told jurors the half-term break had turned into "the most appalling tragedy".

He said Bobby had tripped and appeared to be dizzy on 25 October 2006, and although he had recovered a little by bedtime, Christi was still not feeling well.

Mrs Shepherd also felt unwell, the coroner said.

Jurors were told that after Christi went to bed, she started to cry and be sick. The adults went into the children's room but were unable to recall what happened after that.

Heating engineering expert Thomas Magner - the first witness in the inquest - explained how he believed carbon monoxide had got inside.

He told the court the boiler that supplied hot water to two adjoining bungalows was in an outbuilding.

Mr Magner, who examined the scene for tour operator Thomas Cook, said there was no flue connecting the boiler to the outside, which meant fumes were able to build up in the outhouse.

There were also gaps in the walls where air conditioning pipes went into the building, he said, and this allowed carbon monoxide into the ceiling space above the children's beds.

The expert agreed with the coroner that this work had been "bodged and botched".

Another problem was that a water leak was forcing the boiler to work more than it should have been.

Crucially, a safety cut-off device had been deliberately short-circuited, Mr Magner said, meaning the boiler would not switch off.

The jury earlier heard that hotel staff had looked at the boiler before the Shepherd family started to feel unwell, following complaints from people in the next bungalow.

Asked by Leslie Thomas QC, representing the family, whether this was most likely when the device was short-circuited, Mr Magner said: "It's the only conclusion I came to on the evidence available to me."

The coroner read evidence from another heating engineering expert, Harry Rogers, who was instructed by the family. He said that on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the worst example of installation and maintenance, the boiler was "in the 10 range".

He added that had it been examined in the UK it would have been shut down.

The hotel's manager, head of the technical department and an electrician were each sentenced to seven years in prison in 2010.

Tour operator Thomas Cook was cleared of any blame by a Greek court.

The children's mother, Sharon Wood, has also been in court.

The inquest, which is expected to last two weeks, continues.