Scalded Baby Death 'Avoidable'

The inquest into the tragic, lingering, death of a baby killed by scalding water from a faulty council boiler has ruled that the death was avoidable.

The infant received 95% burns when scalding water cascaded down on her cot when a water tank burst.

The jury at the inquest into the death of ten-month-old Rhianna Hardie at her council home in Taunton, Somerset, ruled she would not have died had the Government informed her landlords of a similar tragedy four years earlier.

Earlier, the jury heard that faults which led to the water tank exploding were reported to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, but there was a failure to pass the information on to local authorities across Britain.

In a statement, the tot's parents, Matthew Hardie and Charlene Haworth, said her death was "completely avoidable" and an "accident waiting to happen".

The infant's parents were spending their first night in the house in Taunton, Somerset when the tragedy occurred.

At the beginning of the hearing Coroner Michael Rose said the case could have national implications leading to a change in the law.

The jury at Taunton Shire Hall also heard how the fault could still potentially be a risk in three and a half million homes across the country.

Officials had previously investigated similar incident in Penzance, Cornwall, in 2002, in which a woman was killed.

Both Rhianna and her two-year-old sister Emily were sleeping in the room below the attic where the system was kept.

Following the explosion, Rhianna was rushed to Musgrove Park Hospital for treatment but she died three weeks later.

(BMcC)