Angela Pinkney

Two men will appear in court on manslaughter charges following the death of an Oxford woman from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Angela Pinkney, 35, died in her bedroom at her home in Mandlebrote Drive, Littlemore, on March 17, 2005.

British Gas was called out 10 times and an engineer left the boiler leaking the gas the day before the woman's death, Oxford Coroner's Court heard last year.

The inquest also heard that there was no record of any tests done on the safety of the boiler on any of the visits.

Peter Woelki, 52, of Poplar Grove, Kennington, and Christopher Jilbert, 50, of Bayswater Farm Road, Headington, Oxford, have been charged with manslaughter.

British Gas refused to say whether the two men were employees of the company or contractors, but spokesman Rhys Jones said: "It would be inappropriate to comment with a court case pending."

They are due to appear at Oxford Magistrates' Court next Friday An inquest jury returned a verdict of death by misadventure after hearing that engineers were repeatedly called out to check the Powermax 155 boiler at the flat Miss Pinkney shared with her landlady and friend, Joanne Maltby, 37.

The last check was the day before her death, when a valve was adjusted.

The inquest jury heard this adjustment caused the boiler to not work properly and there was evidence it was leaking.

Oxfordshire deputy coroner Dr Richard Whittington said Miss Pinkney developed serious symptoms on Wednesday, March 16, 2005, and went to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford.

She was allowed home in the early hours of the morning, but was later found collapsed in her bedroom.

Ms Maltby said: "She was my best friend. We went to school together, we have known each other for years.

"She went to church regularly and did a lot for charity. You could not meet a nicer girl.

"The day she died we had taken her to the John Radcliffe because she was feeling unwell, but the doctors were stumped.

"No-one knew what was wrong with her. We came back at about 5.30am and I went to work. She was left in the flat by herself.

"I came home and found her. It has been hard getting over it, not just because she was a friend, but also this is my home."

Miss Pinkney's brother, Mike, 40, a graphic designer from Northumberland, said that the tragedy had left a huge hole in his family.

Miss Pinkney was a member of the Wesley Memorial Church in Oxford and did voluntary work. She studied at the University of Wales at Aberystwyth before moving to Oxford.

Following the tragedy, British Gas said it had checked the systems of all its customers who owned the same type of boiler.

A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive, said: "We were involved in a joint investigation with Thames Valley Police under the work-related deaths protocol."

5:30am Thursday 20th December 2007

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