Five people die in separate incidents in Cornwall due to faulty gas cookers inquest hears
They all died of carbon monoxide poisoning and had fatal levels of carboxyhemoglobin in their blood.
There were other fatalities linked to faulty gas cookers before five people died in separate incidents in Cornwall from carbon monoxide poisoning, an inquest has heard.
The deaths in Doncaster, Kent, Belfast and Cork were all reported to the authorities in January 2009 - over 18 months before friends Richard Smith, 30, and Kevin Branton, 34, died in Saltash in November 2010.
In February 2013 husband and wife John, 90, and Audrey Cook, 86, and their daughter Maureen, 47, were also found dead inside their static caravan in Camborne.
Cornwall Coroner's Court heard all five died from carbon monoxide poisoning and had fatal levels of carboxyhemoglobin in their blood.
Both Mr Smith and Mr Branton and the Cook family had Beko Plc cookers installed in their homes and were using the grill with the door closed.
The inquest heard the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) - the predecessor to the current Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) - had been informed in January 2009 of other deaths linked to gas cookers.
Reading from documents supplied by BEIS, Cornwall assistant coroner Geraint Williams said the department was informed of three fatalities caused by householders using a grill with a door closed in Doncaster and Kent, and an incident in Cork, Ireland.
"BERR confirmed they would be pushing for an amendment to the European standard EN3011.
"BERR contacted Hertfordshire trading standards and Knowsley trading standards saying they had been made aware of the gas cooker incidents involving manufacturers in their areas, Beko and GlenDimplex, and asking whether they had been contacted by the manufacturer.
"BERR urged a product recall or product rework.''
Geraint Williams, Cornwall Assistant Coroner
Mr Williams said BERR was further informed on February 3 2009 by the Irish authorities of a double fatality in Belfast and shared information relating to the deaths in Doncaster, Kent and Cork.
Fresh inquests into the deaths of Mr Smith and Mr Branton were ordered by the High Court in 2015 after new evidence emerged and the judges ruled the second inquest should be held at the same time as the hearing into the deaths of the Cook family.
The court heard the cookers used by in the Cornwall fatalities were manufactured by Beko Plc's Turkish parent company Arcelik.
In a written statement read to the court, Alp Karahasanoglu, from Arcelik, said product testing attempted to foresee how consumers would use the cookers.
"It is evident from testing and subsequent roll-out of the cookers concerned that no one foresaw the possibility the grill might be used with the grill door shut by accident or on purpose, contrary to the advice in the user manual and by reference to the design of the product generally."
Alp Karahasanoglu, Arcelik
The inquest heard that the instruction manual accompanying the cookers told customers to keep the door open when using the grill.
"I am aware that one of the main issues in these tragic cases is the use by the customers of the grill with the door closed.
"I am told that it is not in issue that the relevant instruction manual provided instructions to the end users that the door must be kept open during the operation of the grill.''
Alp Karahasanoglu
He then said he carried out a comprehensive inquiry and could not find any evidence to support the assertion this was due to concerns over the build-up of carbon monoxide.
"I can say with confidence that no one at Arcelik was aware of this risk until these tragic deaths came to our attention.
"The reason for the instruction to keep the door open was instead entirely to do with the efficient operation of the appliance.''
Alp Karahasanoglu
He said the cookers were manufactured with a rubber seal around the door unit to prevent excess noise, which had created an air gap.
"As a result of these and similar incidents, the whole industry, including Arcelik, came together to discuss where we could improve the standard.
"As result EN3011 was revised in 2010, so that the testing would include the testing for carbon monoxide with the door both open and closed during the operation of the grill."
Alp Karahasanoglu
The hearing was adjourned until Tuesday.