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A coroner has issued a warning after a businesswoman died in a freak accident when a faulty ottoman bed collapsed on her head.
Mother-of-two Helen Davey, 39, suffocated when she was trapped between the mattress and the base of the bed.
Neighbors said she was found by her 19-year-old daughter Elizabeth, known as Betty, after the tragedy at her home in Seaham, County Durham, on June 7. .
An inquest into Davey's death found she died because one of the gas pistons, which lifted the mattress, was faulty.
Yesterday it emerged that Jeremy Chipperfield, senior coroner for Durham and Darlington, has written to the government warning there is a risk of further deaths unless action is taken.
Mum-of-two Helen Davey, 39, suffocated when she was trapped between her mattress and the base of her bed
An inquest into Mrs Davey's death heard she died because one of the gas pistons, which lifted the mattress, was faulty
He said it was his duty to raise concerns with the Department of Business and Commerce's Office of Product Standards about “the existence and use of gas piston mechanisms whose failure poses a risk to life”.
In his post-hearing report, Chipperfield said: 'The deceased was leaning over the storage area of an Ottoman-style “gas lift bed” when the mattress platform unexpectedly lowered, pinning her neck against the upper surface of the side panel. the base of the bed. Unable to free herself, she died of positional asphyxiation.
Betty declined to comment when approached by the Mail, but following the tragedy posted on Facebook, she and her brother were struggling to 'process what had happened'.
“No words would describe how we are feeling,” she said. 'I can't even begin to process that it's real and that you (sic) aren't just going to walk through the door.
'George and mine's best friend since day one, I will always wish we had more time together and that you were still by our side supporting us through everything, as always.
'I hope you know how much I love you and that I would do anything for one more hug. Until we meet again, my angel.
Davey ran her own beauty business, All Dolled Up, from her smart new terrace house.
A local resident said neighbors were questioned by detectives following the tragedy.
He said Betty left the house the night of the freak accident and hasn't lived there since.
Davey ran her own beauty business, All Dolled Up, from her smart new terrace house
Neighbors said she was found by her 19-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, known as Betty. Betty shared this tribute after the tragedy
The man said: 'We didn't know anything until the police and ambulance turned up.
'We asked CID to ask us questions, they asked if there was anything suspicious. We were told that there had been an accident and that Helen had been caught in a position where she could not breathe. That's all they told us.
— I heard a rumor that an Ottoman bed fell on her. It shouldn't be working properly because they bounce up and down.
'The daughter went out for a few hours and when she came back she must have found her. It's a tragedy.
Davey's death is the second fatal accident for his family after his brother Luke, 16, died from a brain injury when he crashed his motorbike into a telegraph pole, at Hutton Henry, near Peterlee, in May 2011.
