‘Botched boiler killed two Wakefield children on holiday isle’

AN ENGINEERING expert has blamed “botched” pipe work for the carbon monoxide leak which caused the death of two West Yorkshire children on the Greek island of Corfu.

Inquests into the deaths of Bobby and Christi Shepherd – aged six and seven respectively – heard how gaps in the walls of their holiday bungalow allowed the lethal gas to seep into the ceiling space above the youngsters’ bedrooms.

Almost a decade on from the tragedy, the hearing at Wakefield Coroner’s Court began today with testimony from witness Thomas Magner, a heating expert who was instructed to examine the scene by tour operator Thomas Cook.

He explained how carbon monoxide from the boiler which supplied hot water to the bungalow had got into the building.

When quizzed by coroner David Hinchliff, Mr Magner agreed that, by British standards, work had been “bodged and botched”.

He said a third problem was that a water leak meant the boiler was working more than it should have been.

But the engineer said a crucial problem was that a safety cut-off device had been deliberately short-circuited, meaning the boiler would not turn itself off.