Cooker deaths: Sixty thousand 'potentially dangerous' cookers sold

Kevin Branton, left, and Richard Smith died at a property in Saltash in 2010

More than 60,000 "potentially dangerous" gas cookers were sold by Beko and other firms between 2003 and 2008, an inquest has heard

The inquest is looking into the deaths of five people in Cornwall in two separate incidents in 2010 and 2013.

The cookers, manufactured by Beko's Turkish parent company Arcelik, have been linked to 13 other deaths in the UK and Ireland.

Beko said there were no reported deaths related to the cookers before 2008.

Kevin Branton, 32, and Richard Smith, 30, died in 2010 in Saltash, while Maureen Cook, 47, Audrey Cook, 86, and Alfred, known as John, Cook, 90, died in 2013 in Camborne.

The inquest has been told both cases involved a similar type of gas cooker, which had been used with the grill door closed, causing fatal levels of carbon monoxide to build up.

A list of the affected models, including the Flavel cooker Mr Smith and Mr Branton had in their Saltash home, is on Beko's website

The hearing was told 58% of customers had since been contacted to have their cookers modified.

The issue related to two different types of cooker - models that ran off mains gas of which 30,000 were sold under the Beko brand and 30,000 were sold under the Glen Dimplex brand.

A further issue was found with cookers that could be converted to run on bottled gas when the conversion was done and 2,400 of those were sold.

Mr Mullen said Beko was notified of the death of French student Alexis Landry in Ireland on 13 November and attended a meeting there four days later.

Initially, the company decided to modify cookers being manufactured and those in stock but not contact customers, he said.

Coroner Geriant Williams asked whether this left an "enormous risk" to people who had already bought the "potentially dangerous" cookers.

Mr Mullen said: "Our view was on the basis of one incident where there was an element of misuse."

He said Beko had also taken advice from trading standards and product testing company Intertek.

Mr Mullen said Beko was not informed of two further deaths in Doncaster in late November 2008 and two deaths in Kent on Christmas Day, until 22 January 2009.

After this Beko started contacting customers directly and through media campaigns.

The inquest continues.