Couple cooked to death by cooker

An elderly couple who left four electric cooker rings turned on by mistake died of heatstroke as their home roasted to 120° F.

Raymond Elsom, 74, and wife Doreen, 70, had been bought the appliance by son Darren because he thought it would be safer than their old gas one.

He found the pair, who both had heart conditions, slumped in their lounge in May where the 120°F heat (48.9°C) was hotter than the Sahara. Their central heating was also on.



Darren, 40, told an inquest: “The heat was intense. The rings on the cooker were bright red. It was like an inferno.”

Pathologist Peter Vanezis said the pair died from hyperthermia, or overheating. It is the opposite of hypothermia, which causes death by cold.

Coroner David Hinchliff recorded a verdict of accidental death.