Bulgarian Carpet Cleaner Electrocuted in London

A 22-year-old Bulgarian man has passed away in London after suffering a shock from faulty wiring.

Bulgarian Diyan Hristov was found slumped over furniture at the GBP 1 M Victorian terrace home in Putney, The Evening Standard reported Friday.

His cleaning machine and an electric pedal fan were both still running when his body was discovered in an upstairs bedroom on a chaise longue.

An inquest at Westminster coroner's court heard that poor wiring in the house — which had undergone extensive renovation — led to exposed metal on an appliance becoming live.

According to the report, Hristov moved to the UK back in 2007 together with his girlfriend, Tonka Bimbelova.

"We came over because there wasn't much work in Bulgaria. He hardly ever took a day off. If he had the choice to work or have a day off he always chose work," she told The Standard, referring to Hristov as her "first and only love".

The couple met as teenagers working at a hotel reception in the Black Sea resort of Bourgas, and had been planning to get married and start a family.

Hristov, who worked as a contractor for Perfect Clean, had been hired to clean carpets at the house owned by commercial lawyer Jean-Pierre Douglas-Henry in July 2010.

His body was discovered by Douglas-Henry's wife. She called the emergency services but paramedics could not save him.

Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe, who recorded a verdict of accidental death, said experts from the Health and Safety Executive had concluded there were no faults with the cleaning machine.

"Therefore, his conclusion is it must have been as a result of a fault with the electrical installation," she said.

Bimbelova is quoted as saying she would not make any decisions about pursuing a private prosecution until she had spoken to her lawyer.