MP's carbon monoxide death boiler service plea

When she was 21, Julia Buckley's friend Irene died of carbon monoxide poisoning

A Shropshire MP whose friend died from carbon monoxide poisoning is urging people to make sure their boilers are serviced.

According to a survey by Project Shout, which raises awareness of carbon monoxide dangers, seven in 10 heating engineers have said more households have delayed their annual gas services recently, due to the cost.

Labour's Julia Buckley is concerned lives are being put at risk as some people look to save money by delaying checks on appliances.

When she was 21, Ms Buckley's school friend Irene Wright died because of a faulty boiler at her home.

“She was asleep in her bed in her family home. She’d come home for Christmas,” she said.

“She and I were both away at uni. She was training to be a school teacher, but she’d gone home for Christmas, and in the family cottage their boiler had not been serviced for a few years.

“And in the night when they were all asleep, it leaked carbon monoxide... and Irene just died in her sleep.”

Ms Buckley said her friend would have been 50 this December.

She said: “Her life was cut short and it was what we call a silent killer.

"There’s no smell, there’s no sound. It’s really difficult to detect unless you either have a carbon monoxide detector, or you do those regular annual checks.”

The MP said tenants could ask their landlords, whether private or social, to carry out checks which they were obliged to do by law.

She also said grants were available from charities and the council, if anyone was struggling financially.