Holiday reps cleared over gassed children in Corfu

TWO holiday firm representatives have been found not guilty by a Greek court over the deaths of a brother and sister who were poisoned by carbon monoxide.

Christianne Shepherd, seven, and her six-year-old brother Robert died after a faulty boiler leaked gas into their bungalow in Corfu in October 2006.

The children, from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, were on a half-term holiday with their father Neil Shepherd and his partner, Ruth Beatson, who were both left in a coma as a result of the accident but survived.

Thomas Cook employees Richard Carson, 28, and Nicola Gibson, 26, were charged alongside nine Greeks with manslaughter by negligence in relation to the children and causing bodily injury by negligence to Mr Shepherd and Ms Beatson.

After a lengthy court case, which started in February, three judges at Corfu Town court yesterday found Mr Carson, a customer affairs executive, and Ms Gibson, a holiday representative, not guilty.

The court heard that carbon monoxide fumes at the Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel in Gouvia leaked into the bungalow from an outhouse next door.

Judge Panagiotis Molyvdas said the tour company staff had been misinformed by the hotel manager that no gas was being used in the bungalows and they were not responsible for "bringing about the lethal outcome".

The judge blamed hotel manager Georgios Chrysikopoulos, head of the hotel technical department Petros Stoyiannos and hotel electrician Christos Louvros, who were each sentenced to seven years in jail.

The hotel staff knew there was no chimney for the release of fumes from the boiler. But they also "wired off" the thermostatic valve, effectively shutting down the boiler's only other safety mechanism.

Civil engineer Dimitrios Xidias, who built the bungalows without chimneys, was given a suspended sentence of two years for breach of regulations.

Mr Shepherd and Ms Beatson, along with the children's mother Sharon Wood and her husband, Paul, attended the trial.

Standing on the steps of the courthouse, Mr Shepherd urged the hotel owners to "carry out their promise of demolishing the bungalow and replacing it with a suitable memorial to our beloved children".

He said: "If just one person had done their job correctly Christi and Bobby would be here today.

"Everyone who worked on or knew about the disgusting state of the boiler in our eyes was grossly negligent."

Mrs Wood said: "Our feelings go beyond disappointment, for we consider each of the defendants a link in a chain of events which led to our children losing their lives – each of these links vital, each capable of preventing the tragedy."

Thomas Cook UK & Ireland chief executive Pete Constanti said: "We have always maintained that this tragic accident was the result of a unique set of circumstances, none of which could be the responsibility of the company or Richard Carson and Nicola Gibson.

"We believe that they should never have formed part of this court case."

He said the "thorough and robust trial" had confirmed the innocence of his staff, adding: "Both individuals are exemplary members of our team and we are pleased that they have now been fully vindicated."

Boiler maintenance engineers Theo Koromios and Nikolaos Varthis, architect Alexandros Gavrielidis, safety technician Damianis Goudelis and Michael Florentiadis, who renovated the roof of the bungalow in 2001, were all cleared of any wrongdoing.