An inquest into the death of a man shortly after New Year has been suspended after his family raised concerns over carbon monoxide.

David Beattie, 55, was found dead at his home in Amwell Court, Waltham Abbey, where he lived alone, on January 2, after his employers told police they were worried about him.

He was found dead in bed and a post mortem examination found he had died of heart failure.
But his sister, Eileen Savage, who was at the hearing in Chelmsford today, said she feared carbon monoxide had been involved in his death.

She said she could not persuade heating engineers to reconnect the boiler in his home to test for the fatal gas.

She added: “Nobody will touch it. We checked the flu outlet and it was done with duct tape.

“The people doing the servicing there for the past 10 years won’t come and put it back on and it does seem a bit strange – why?”

She said she had seen her brother the night before he was found and he had seemed fine apart from a slight cold.

She added: “He was dancing around my front room with my granddaughter and he was fine.

“He’d had a bit of a cold over Christmas, but he was getting a bit better.”

Coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray said she had not known about the family’s concerns before today.

She added: “This is the first we’ve heard of this. I would like a bit more in writing from the family.”

She said the inquest would resume in about four weeks’ time.