Mother's boiler danger petition

Rhianna Hardie died after a heating system exploded above her cot

A Dorset mother has started a petition calling for tougher boiler regulations after a fault caused a water tank to leak boiling water near her children.

Jackie Isbell woke to hear her children scream after a faulty thermostat caused their attic storage tank to split.

It caused 70 gallons (320 litres) of boiling water to pour through the bedroom ceiling in April last year.

Olivia-Louise, seven, Keara, four, and Ashleigh, 11, were rescued uninjured from their Weymouth home.

Mrs Isbell started a petition, already signed by 126 people, after hearing about other deaths related to faulty boilers, including baby Rhianna Hardie.

The 10-month-old suffered 95% burns when a faulty heating system exploded above her cot in Taunton Deane, Somerset, in November 2006.

Last month, the inquest into her death heard that the same heating system was installed in 3.5 million UK homes.

Mrs Isbell is calling on Prime Minister Gordon Brown to change the law "so that all aspects of boilers are serviced, including thermostats".

The petition states: "Children are dying and getting injured and homes are destroyed when, for example, thermostats break down.

"We would like the law to include thermostats and all other equipment relating to boilers to be tested as standard."