Council decides on hot tub death

A council is still deciding whether to prosecute several firms, three years after a man died from Legionnaires' disease inhaled during a hot tub demo.

Roger Russell, 61, of Crowthorne, Berkshire, inhaled legionella bacteria while being shown a spa bath at a showroom in Bagshot, Surrey, in 2001.

An inquest into the death found the tub contained high levels of the bacteria.

Surrey Heath Borough Council said it may still prosecute the manufacturers, distributors and sellers of the spa.

I think that we need to be very careful that it is correct and that is why it is taking quite a long time to make a decision on it Surrey Heath's chief environmental health officer

Mr Russell died at Frimley Park Hospital on 29 June 2001, nearly three weeks after visiting the showroom.

During that visit he was sprayed in the face with a fine mist of water as a salesmen demonstrated how the spa bath worked.

At a subsequent inquest in February 2002, the Surrey coroner heard that tests on the hot tub showed the presence of Legionnaires' bacteria, and that these were indistinguishable from the bacteria that killed Mr Russell.

He also heard how a device meant to help kill harmful bacteria in the water was not working during Mr Russell's hot tub demonstration.

Surrey Heath Borough Council's chief environmental health officer, Ken Stewart, acknowledged that if the prosecution was to go ahead, a considerable amount of time had passed since the death.

He said: "We want to do the right thing. I think that we need to be very careful that it is correct and that is why it is taking quite a long time to make a decision on it."