A heating engineer died when he suffered a major electric shock while he was replacing an old boiler at his parents’ house. The 46 year old dad of two was found slumped over the boiler and it was declared that he died when a powerful current passed through him while he attempted to move the old boiler.

It was believed the man’s father and mother were experiencing problems with their old boiler which was installed over 24 years ago and they decided to call their son to take a look at it.

The man’s father said at a court inquest “I placed my hands on him to move him but I was shocked. It became apparent to me that the boiler or something was live and the electrics were on.”

Mr Robbins was later pronounced dead at the University Hospital of Wales, Heath, and Cardiff.

A cable jointer was called in to examine the scene and he found that a power socket in the cupboard where the boiler was housed was not protected by the main trip switch of the home but was wired separately and connected directly to the electricity meter.

An extension lead running from the socket, used to power a cordless phone, appeared to have been cut when the boiler was moved, exposing the live wires to the metal unit. All the electricity was fed to the boiler frame which made it a large area of live metal.

A post-mortem examination gave a cause of death as cardiac arrest caused by electrocution.