Baby death boiler fault 'known'

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A water tank which drenched a baby in scalding water, killing her, was fitted with a thermostat which was known to be unreliable, an inquest has heard.

Ten-month-old Rhianna Hardie died when the tank burst and spilled water over her cot at her Taunton council home.

Plumbers employed by Taunton Deane Borough Council said safer versions are fitted only after complaints.

The Hardies' thermostat was set to cut out at 80C rather than the standard 65C but failed, the inquest was told.

'Dangerous level'

Paul Carter, a plumber with Taunton Deane Borough Council for more than 18 years, said it was possible for the make of thermostat to be inaccurate by up to 20 degrees from its programmed cut-off point.

He agreed with the parents' barrister, Dr Michael Powers QC, that the thermostat had been set at a dangerous level.

Dr Powers said: "The thermostat shouldn't be set at that temperature. It should be set to around 60 degrees.

"If it were seen at the level it should be it would be corrected.

"The reason for this is obvious - if it's set at a higher level, the water coming out would be extremely hot.

"These thermostats are not accurate. They are fairly accurate when they're first installed but when they've been in for a number of years the range of accuracy decreases.

"They can be wrong by about 20 degrees. So if the thermostat is set at 75 degrees, it may not cut out until it reaches 95 degrees."

Charles Back, a building professional, said it was his opinion that the faulty thermostat led to the tragedy, not inadequate base beneath the water tank.

Parents Matthew Hardie and Charlie Haworth were spending their first night in the house in Wellington Road with their two children on November 19 2006 when the tragedy occurred.

The hearing at Taunton Shire Hall continues.