Girl aged three died after being left at home in front of fire

A girl of three died from 90 per cent burns after her mother left her inches from a gas fire, an inquest was told yesterday.

A girl of three died from 90 per cent burns after her mother left her inches from a gas fire, an inquest was told yesterday.

Farah Kauser was at home with only her two-year-old brother because her father, Ashfaq Hussain, was late returning from the shops and her mother, Farzana Kauser, had gone to fetch her eldest child from a nearby school. Two workmen and a neighbour noticed smoke and heard screams from the house in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.

But beating open the door took 10 minutes, the coroner in Huddersfield, Roger Whittaker was told. John Paxman, a builder who broke into the house, said: "I looked towards the fireplace and could see a child sitting in front of the fire. The child was on fire. She turned and looked towards me and I could see her mouth was on fire."

Mr Paxman said he lifted Farah and kept blowing on her shoulders, trying to extinguish the flames as he carried her to a nearby house to douse her in water. The second workman, Ian Douglas, said: "The child was upright in front of the fire, mumbling something. The toddler was in a terrible state. The only clothes left on her were her socks. The experience was horrific."

The little boy suffered only slight smoke inhalation but Farah died the next day. A fire officer said he believed part of her clothing fell down a small gap between the fire's glass cover and decorative fender.

Mr Whittaker recorded a verdict of accidental death, and warned that fires should have guards to protect young children and the elderly.