Water tank fault that scalded baby girl to death 'was known to be unreliable'

Ten-month-old Rhianna Hardie was scalded when boiling water cascaded over her from the attic above as she lay in her cot in November 2006.

Parents Matthew Hardie and Charlie Haworth were spending their first night in the council house in Taunton, Somerset, when the incident occured.

Rhianna was taken to Musgrove Park Hospital for treatment but she died three weeks later at Bristol Children's Hospital.

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Plumbers employed by Taunton Deane Borough Council told the inquest jury at Taunton Shire Hall that they were aware the thermostat in the tank at the property was an old design known to be unreliable.

They said safer, newer versions are fitted only after complaints from tenants. Following the tragedy, they discovered the Hardies' thermostat was set to cut out at 80 degrees - rather than the standard 65 degrees - but failed.

Paul Carter, a plumber with Taunton Deane Borough Council for more than 18 years, said it is 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."

Both Rhianna and her two-year-old sister, Emily, were put to sleep in the room below the attic on the night of the accident.

Around 2.30am, the couple were woken by a crashing noise and the sound of Rhianna crying.

Civil engineer Mr Hardie, 22, told the inquest in Taunton: "I rushed to Rhianna and she was absolutely soaked.

"She was so hot I barely managed to carry her downstairs. It was horrific."

Miss Haworth, a 22-year-old healthcare worker, said: "We put her in the kitchen sink. Her clothes were on so all I could see was her head, her hands and her feet.

"Her skin was hanging from her toes and fingers in flaps and I could see it pulling back from her face."

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Up to 10million people could be in danger from the plumbing fault which led to the death of Rhianna, the inquest heard yesterday.

Coroner Michael Rose said the problem with an outmoded thermostat which allowed hot water to flood the cold water tank could have national implications.

He said 3.5million homes could be affected, adding later that this equated to 10million people "including some of the jury".

The inquest was told that the heating and hot water systems at the house were controlled by two electric immersion heaters in a downstairs cupboard.

A thermostat failed on the system and water carried on heating up. It backed up into the plastic cold water tank in the attic.

The system - commonly installed in houses in the 1950s - is found in both council and private homes.

Coroner Mr Rose said: "There's no dispute that the death was a direct consequence of a problem that occurred when the thermostat in the immersion heater failed and boiling water overwhelmed the cold water tank which spilt and cascaded on to Rhianna.

"No thermostat in the United Kingdom had failed for 50 years, and the law may change as a result of this inquest."

He said there was no legal requirement for heater checks.

The inquest heard the couple were given no information about how to use the hot water system when they moved into the house.

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Hours before the tragedy, they found scalding hot water coming out of the cold tap in their bathroom but did not know what to do about it.

The couple - who had a new baby, Kadie, six weeks ago - now live in another council house in Taunton.

John Williams, chief housing officer for Taunton Deane Borough Council, revealed that safety inspectors were not expected to examine the attics of houses.

He said: "Our officers haven't got ladders and they are not expected to look into roof spaces.

"They do basic tests to see if the taps work and the toilet flushes.

"The immersion heaters are not turned on, as we were not aware of the potential for this kind of accident to occur."

The type of heating system which exploded can be found in 14 per cent of the UK's 24.7million households.

Council officials told the hearing that more modern types of thermostat with a "safety cut-out" are now fitted to stop continuous re-heating of the water in the event of thermostat failure.

Council electrical engineer Richard Eastman admitted the immersion heater in Rhianna's house could have been faulty for years.

Taunton Deane was notified of government guidelines in April 2004 to replace all immersion heaters of this type in council houses if and when they broke down.

But as the immersion heating system was never routinely tested, no faults were detected.

The hearing continues.