Mother killed by faulty kitchen wiring system

A young mother has died after being electrocuted by faulty wiring in her kitchen. Mother of two Mary Wherry, 34, was killed instantly by an electric shock as she hung a spoon on a wall-mounted metal utensil rack.

Electrical experts investigating the accident found that the cable running from a fuse box to the cooker hood was not insulated. It was also only chased 10 mm into the wall rather than the recommended 50 mm. Mrs Wherry’s shock proved fatal because her ankle was touching the metal-fronted door of her dishwasher as she replaced the spoon on the rack, thus completing the circuit.

Experts also found that the cable meandered across the wall rather than running in strict horizontal or vertical lines.

Fulham coroner’s court was told that the family had become suspicious that something was wrong when a family friend also received a small shock as she tried to hang a colander on the same rack under the cooker hood hours after Mrs Wherry’s death. Mrs Wherry’s husband had put up the rack three years earlier, thinking that he had positioned it away from cables, but evidence supplied by electrical engineer David Latimer found that one fixing screw had caught the edge of the uninsulated wiring. Over time the screw had moved slightly to make contact with the uninsulated live wire.

The wiring was installed, along with the fitted kitchen, by an unnamed building firm from Huddersfield. The electrical experts brought in by the police found that the wiring had broken a string of safety guidelines issued by the Institution of Electrical Engineers.

Recording a verdict of accidental death the coroner said: “I am going to record that the death was the consequence of home improvement work.” Mrs Wherry’s family is now considering suing the firm who fitted the kitchen. She was the daughter of Liberal Democrat MP Jenny Tonge.