A ‘happy-go-lucky’ chef who lived life to the full died on board a houseboat when his vape battery caught fire, setting the boat ablaze.
Ben Hardy died from smoke inhalation on board the boat, moored at the back of The Anchor Inn in Main Road, Wyre Piddle, an inquest in Stourport heard on Tuesday.
The 37-year-old agency chef returned to the boat, also used by the previous chef as living accommodation, at around 10.32pm on Christmas Eve 2024 after drinking inside the pub.
The ambulance service attended the scene of the fire at 7.43pm on Christmas Day, where the body of Mr Hardy was found.
CHEF: Ben Hardy had been working as an agency chef at The Anchor Inn in Wyre Piddle when he died on board a house boat in a fire likely caused by a vape (Image: Newsquest)
Mr Hardy’s sister, Kirstie Trower, appeared over videolink during the hearing at Stourport Coroner’s Court.
A statement from Mr Hardy’s mother was read out by the assistant coroner in which she said: “He was a happy-go-lucky type of character who did not worry about too much and lived life to the full.”
READ MORE: Tributes to ‘talented chef’ who died in Anchor Inn boat fire
Born in Milton Keynes, Mr Hardy of Goldington Road, Bedford, loved drum and bass music, going to concerts, fishing, food and attending the gym.
CCTV showed an explosion at the front of the boat at 10.54pm, causing smoke to fill the cabin. Another explosion and flare followed at 11.01pm.
The pub manager, Toni Cakoni, approached the boat and slid open one of the doors, and shouted out to Ben but received no reply.
READ MORE: Update on inquest into death after boat fire in Wyre Piddle
“I had to get off the boat at this point because of the smoke and flames. I called the fire service, praying Ben wasn’t inside,” said Mr Cakoni in a statement read out by the assistant coroner.
The inquest heard that Mr Hardy, an agency chef with MSK, has been employed at the Anchor at short notice, beginning work at the pub on December 22, 2024, just days before his death.
Mr Cakoni had no responsibility for the boat itself and, because the boat was not used as a place of work, the Health and Safety Executive, though consulted, said the relevant legislation did not apply. Investigations showed no fault with the boat which could have caused the fire such as an electrical fault.
LOVED: Ben Hardy died after a houseboat fire at The Anchor Inn in Wyre Piddle as a coroner concluded hi death was an accident (Image: Kirstie Trower)
A consultant forensic pathologist found that Mr Hardy was the equivalent of three times the legal alcohol limit for a drink driver, which would have resulted ‘in an extreme degree of intoxication in an average social drinker’ with potential effects including a stupor, impaired consciousness and impaired reflexes. Carbon monoxide in his blood was just under typical fatal levels.
There were also traces of cocaine and cannabis in Mr Hardy’s body, and the pathologist said: “It’s likely he was exposed to effects associated with substance abuse at the time of death.”
No evidence was found of third-party involvement in Mr Hardy’s death. A fire investigation suggested the most likely cause of the fire was the electrical failure of a lithium-ion battery inside an e-cigarette. It is possible the vape was left on the hot surface of an oil-filled radiator, the inquest heard.
David Richards, the previous chef, had said the boat was ‘extremely cold’ and, as a result, two oil- filled radiators were used inside the boat.
Although no remains of an e-cigarette were found, the fire investigator said this was not uncommon due to the destructive nature of fire.
In her conclusion, assistant coroner Deborah Lakin recorded a conclusion that Mr Hardy’s death on Christmas Day 2024 was an accident. She recorded the medical cause of his death as inhalation of the fumes of combustion. The likely cause of the fire was Mr Hardy’s placement of a vape on, or near an oil-filled radiator.
