Hotel database after Corfu deaths

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The UK travel industry has unveiled a new health and safety scheme after a brother and sister died from carbon monoxide poisoning on holiday in Corfu.

From spring next year, members of the Association of British Travel Agents will be able to access a "reliable, independently-audited hotel database".

The database will comprise thousands of health-and-safety checked hotels.

Robert Shepherd, six, and Christianne, seven, were with their father and his partner when they died in October.

The brother and sister, from Horbury, near Wakefield, West Yorkshire, died on a half-term break.

Six people in Corfu have been charged with manslaughter in connection with their deaths.

One of the main reasons for this database is to protect both the customer and the travel agent Association of British Travel Agents

The Greek tourism minister later ordered the local authorities to suspend the licence of the hotel where the family had stayed, the Louis Corcyra Beach Hotel, pending the outcome of the investigation.

A spokeswoman for Abta said: "The tragedy in Corfu has brought the health and safety issue to the fore.

"People are now buying separate accommodation and flights from an agent.

"One of the main reasons for this database is to protect both the customer and the travel agent."

Abta announced the new initiative at its annual convention in Marbella in Spain, on Monday.

"It [the database] is not definitive - some hotels that have perfectly good facilities may not be on the database," added the Abta spokeswoman.

The travel organisation said it has employed a member of staff to lobby governments "to try to step up health and safety overseas".

Abta members will have to pay minimum charge to access the database information, collated by another company.

Greek police had blamed the Corfu tragedy on a faulty gas boiler which powered the air conditioning in their chalet.