ONE of Britain's most trusted consumer watchdogs is accused of blundering over new safety standards which experts say could put lives at risk, and part of the evidence for the claim was found in Burnley.

The BBC's Here and Now programme visited ten homes in and around Hurstwood Avenue during the summer with heating consultant Harry Rogers, and found carbon monoxide, often called 'the invisible killer,' in four of them.

One of the people interviewed was Christine Thompson who has been forced to sleep and live in her conservatory and summer house because, she claims, her house makes her ill. Christine is convinced carbon monoxide gas is seeping into her house, causing her blinding headaches and illness.

The Here and Now programme is due to be screened tonight on BBC1 at 7.30pm. The British Standards Institute has for the first time awarded its famous kitemark to household alarms which detect the potentially lethal gas. However, the new BSI standard means manufacturers are having to make their alarms much less sensitive if they want to carry the kitemark.

The new detectors are undergoing final tests and should be in the shops within the next few weeks.

One of the country's top poisons experts said the new BSI standard will not adequately protect people from carbon monoxide, which claims dozens of lives each year.

Dr John Henry, of the National Poisons Information Service, has warned that the less sensitive alarms could cost lives.

Here and Now's investigation also found evidence to suggest that thousands of people all over Britain could be unaware they are experiencing the symptoms of low level carbon monoxide poisoning, which include headaches, nausea and fatigue.

Carbon monoxide, produced in the home by faulty fuel-burning appliances such as cookers, fires and heaters, is the most common cause of fatal poisoning in Britain. Unborn children, youngsters under five years old, the elderly and people with heart conditions are most at risk.

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