Family of grandad who burned to death in scalding hotel bath demand bosses face criminal charges

Daily Record

4 days ago

Wallace Hunter's son also wants laws changed to make sure nobody else suffers like his dad.
The son of a man who burned to death in a scalding hotel bath has called for prosecutions and changes to ­regulations to prevent others dying like his dad.
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Keir Hunter, 51, has spoken exclusively to the Sunday Mail after a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into Wallace Hunter's death concluded last week.
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The 75-year-old, from Eaglesham, Renfrewshire was on a pre-Christmas break with wife Janice when the tragedy happened at Pitlochry Hydro on December 1, 2019.
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Grandfather-of-five Wallace suffered severe burns on 83 per cent of his body from a faulty tap which hadn't been maintained since it was installed in 1987.
He was trapped in his hotel bath, unable to get out or switch off the tap that was pouring scalding hot water on to him.
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Keir, from Glasgow, said: 'My dad was tortured to death.
'He was speaking through a long part of this. He was telling the people outside the door that he was having ­problems with the taps while they were trying to break in.
'To experience that amount of suffering… I can't process it. This cannot happen again.'
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Wallace, a retired precision engineer, was pronounced dead within an hour of going into the bathroom of room 211 after getting stuck in the bath.
Unknown to the retired couple their room was one of 10 with ancient bathrooms which had yet to be upgraded.
Guests staying in room 211 and the nine other older rooms had repeatedly complained about problems in the weeks and months before the tragedy, including boiling hot water, a lack of cold water or problems with the taps.
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But hotel maintenance staff put the problems down to 'user error' rather than looking into problems with the taps.
Keir said: 'When my parents got to reception it was a lottery – do you want a safe room or a dangerous room? You'd pick the safe room. My parents weren't offered that choice.'
An FAI into Wallace's death found the faulty taps, an old door locking mechanism which made breaking into the bathroom difficult and flawed health and safety advice on water temperature all contributed to his death.
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Keir, who works in the hotel construction field as a ­commercial director, wants the owners of the company which ran the hotel, Specialist Leisure Group, to face criminal prosecutions as well as bosses of health and safety firm Hygiene 2 Health, which gave flawed advice on water temperatures.
Specialist Leisure went bust four months after Wallace's death with its former director Richard Calvert now chief ­executive of Club Company, which runs dozens of English golf and country clubs.
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Keir said: 'The glacial process of the ­investigation and the FAI has impacted the ability to ever hold anyone accountable.
'The fact that neither the health and safety guy nor the directors of the hotel company at that time bear any culpability or responsibility, that's a big problem for me.
'They should be facing ­corporate homicide charges, there is criminality here.
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'It also took a long time for the FAI to be confirmed, and then to happen. It's taken a toll on us as a family as we've been waiting six years for this to finish. We're not the victims here. My dad is the victim.
'I just want to make sure this can't happen to someone else.'
The inquiry heard from Lee McDowell, director of Hygiene 2 Health which had been hired by Specialist Leisure to advise on health and safety in their dozens of properties across the UK including the Pitlochry Hydro hotel.
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McDowell told maintenance staff the water temperature should be kept at above 50C to avoid legionella growing in the system despite regulations stating water should come out of the taps at around 38C to avoid burning people.
McDowell also crucially failed to mention a vital temperature control inside the tap had to be maintained and serviced.
The temperature control was so old in the tap in Wallace's room it wasn't working properly and didn't shut off the system when the water was far too hot.
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Wallace went into the bathroom at about 7.30am as his wife packed to get ready to return home.
The alarm was raised when a guest in the room below said there was water pouring into her room and staff contacted the couple.
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Through the bathroom door Wallace told Janice he couldn't get out of the bath or put the tap off.
Guests and a hotel night porter frantically tried to break down the door using fire extinguishers and a crowbar, but it was locked with a metal bolt from the inside and opened outwards.
Police and fire crews arrived at 8am and quickly broke into the bathroom to find Wallace ­unconscious. They had to wear gloves to pull him from the tub as the water was so hot. Despite attempts to resuscitate him he was pronounced dead at 8.31am.
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'Almost his entire body had been burned except for a few areas including his face and shoulders.
Along with his call for prosecutions, Keir wants hotels to have to display a 'star' rating for health and safety and the public should be aware of different rules for older facilities.
He said: 'They should have a star rating for health and safety, or it should be confirmed in the booking whether the hotel is compliant with all current legislation.
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'The problem is that older hotels like the one my parents were in didn't have to comply with modern regulations as it was built before they came in. People don't realise this. Nobody goes to stay in a hotel to come home in a box but that is the risk.'
Keir described his dad as a 'fantastic granddad' who had a love of Robert Burns.
He said: 'His Tam o' Shanter was legendary all over Scotland.'
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In the years since his death he has missed birthdays and one of his grandchildren getting married.
The Hunter family are now pursuing a civil case for compensation.
Glen Millar, a partner with Thompsons Solicitors Scotland, who is representing the Hunters said: 'This appalling case is a litany of management failure and gross negligence which led directly to the death of Mr Hunter. His death could so easily have been avoided if even the most basic care had been taken over hotel ­maintenance.
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'The faults that led to Mr Hunter's passing had been reported on many many occasions by previous guests and yet nothing was done.
'The Pitlochry Hydro was a death trap, in particular for the many elderly guests who visited the establishment.
'It must be hoped that the FAI determination will make sure that such a terrible fatality will not happen again in the future.'
Richard Calvert was contacted for comment but he did not respond. Hygiene 2 Health said it was unable to comment.
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