THE widow of a Gwent man who died after an outbreak of legionnaires' disease at a hotel yesterday called for a public inquiry into the way the Environmental Health Department acted over the outbreak.

The Copthorne Hotel, in Cardiff, a health and safety consultant and the managing director of a firm supplying humidification equipment were fined a total of £51,500 for health and safety breaches at Cardiff crown court.

After the case Irene Roberts released a statement saying she was unhappy with the outcome of the case.

Her husband, Philip, died from the disease in February 2000. This followed the death of Linda Johnson, 52, who died after a visit to the hotel in December 1999.

Mr Roberts, of Gladstone Street, Cross Keys, became ill on February 8, 2000, and died of the disease just five days later.

She said: "Why were my husband and I allowed to go to the Copthorne Hotel in January when Mrs Johnson had already died in December of the disease? Should the hotel not have been closed? Then my husband would not have died."

The hotel, Kevin Kempen, managing director of Link Units, the company who fitted humidification equipment at the hotel which was the source of the outbreak, and Christopher Purslow, a freelance health and safety consultant, were all fined for neglecting health and safety regulations.

The hotel was fined £40,000, and Kempen, aged 49, of Curzon Road, Southport, Merseyside, was fined £7,500 for failing to take responsible care for the health of others.

Purslow, 61, of South Road, Weston-super-Mare, was fined £4,000 for failing to ensure the public were not exposed to risk.

Sentencing the defendants, Mr Justice Christopher Pitchford said five other people who contracted the disease were left with a severely affected quality of life. He also said the families of the deceased were devastated by their "cruel loss".

The outbreak occurred after Link Units failed to correctly install the humidification equipment used at a cold-food buffet, which later allowed legionella bacteria to be emitted and inhaled by guests.

Kempen was criticised by the judge for not ensuring staff understood a course they attended on the risks of the equipment.

Purslow had carried out checks at the hotel after the humidifer was installed and people fell ill, and failed to identify the problem.