Mother of children killed by carbon monoxide in Corfu blames Thomas Cook

Aislinn Laing, in Corfu Published: 3:58PM GMT 04 Mar 2010

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Sharon Wood pronounced she believed that Thomas Cook had "a avocation of care" to strengthen Christianne and Robert by ensuring that the Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel in Gouvia was a stable place for them to stay.

The dual children, elderly 7 and six, were found passed in their one-story dwelling on Oct 25, 2006, only dual days in to a half-term mangle with their father Neil and his new partner Ruth.

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Mr Shepherd, 41, and Ruth, 30, who are right away married, remained in comas for 4 days after the family inhaled sick fume from a inadequate gas boiler in an latrine subsequent to their bungalow.

Mrs Wood, 39, was giving justification at the second day of the hearing in Corfu of Thomas Cook legal legal legal holiday reps Richard Carson, elderly 28, and Nicola Gibson, elderly 26.

They are indicted of the killing of Christianne and Robert, from Horbury, West Yorkshire, and loosening in propinquity to Mr and Mrs Shepherd"s injury, along with 9 Greek defendants together with the road house manager. The charges lift a limit judgment of five years" imprisonment.

Mrs Wood"s voice pennyless as she described how she initial listened of the deaths of dual British young kids in Greece from media reports in the UK prior to dual officers from West Yorkshire Police arrived to discuss it her the young kids were her own.

She and her new father Paul Wood, 41, rught away flew to Corfu where they were told the expected means was CO monoxide poisoning, nonetheless the internal writings were claiming Mr Shepherd had tainted his young kids deliberately.

The integrate photographed the boiler subsequent to the bungalow, that Mrs Wood pronounced was "very, really rusty" and looked as if it had been "leaking for months if not years".

She was asked either she would have checked the boiler herself.

"I hold it was Thomas Cook"s pursuit to check the gas appliances on a unchanging basement in suitability with legislation," she replied.

"I hold it"s their shortcoming to safeguard that things are safe.

"We had a stipulate with Thomas Cook and they had a avocation of care, they should have stable my children."

The family hired a British gas reserve consultant Harry Rogers to fly to Corfu.

As well as inspecting the boiler itself, he complicated the photographs taken by the Woods given it had been remade prior to long prior to he arrived.

Mr Rogers told the justice that it was "immediately obvious" that the boiler had been in a "distressed state".

"It"s the misfortune designation I have ever witnessed in 50 years of service," he said.

"An operative can have a mistake, everybody can, but the mistakes that were done here were inattentive and incompetent."

He pronounced that a funnel to move in oxygen and remove CO monoxide had not been propitious and was lying on the floor, along with a square of stone propping the boiler up.

A thermostat written to cut out the boiler if it began emitting sick fume had been connected out to safeguard it kept operative an blunder same to disabling a notice light to show a car"s brakes were faulty, he said.

He resolved that CO monoxide had leaked out of the boiler room and in to the one-story dwelling by holes that had been drilled by the vital room wall for an air conditioning complement and not filled in.

Tests he conducted to establish the levels of CO monoxide suggested that a deadly turn built up inside the one-story dwelling inside of one minute.

He was asked either the reserve checks that Thomas Cook conducted should have picked up any problem.

"I don"t know how the debate operators work but if any in accord with chairman that had any in accord with believe had legalised that sold boiler, they didn"t need to be a space station scientist to comply that there was something wrong," he replied.

"The repudiation of a funnel is only basic. Man realised when he lived in caves that if you had a fire, you had to have a hole for fume to get out."

Neil Shepherd after left the justice in tears as a alloy called to the one-story dwelling the sunrise after described how he found Robert and Christianne lying routine on the floor.

"They had no beat and their bodies were cold," he said. "My perspective was that they had been passed for utterly a little time.

"The man and the lady were lying comatose with huge respirating problems.

They did not conflict to my debate or transformation and we called an ambulance."

Thomas Cook has pronounced in a matter that the situation was "unique and unforeseeable" and the employees did zero wrong. The box was shelved until Mar 11.