A coroner has suggested banning the sales of a tumble dryer that caused a house fire that killed a father and his nine-year-old daughter.
Senior coroner Martin Fleming warned there are more than 1.6million Hoover dryers in UK homes that have potentially fatal defects, and called for an urgent safety review of the product.
Sohaib Ahmed, 38, and his daughter Manahal Ahmed died after a fire broke out at their house, which was likely started due to a fault in their tumble dryer.
The pair were found unresponsive at the home in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire, alongside Mr Ahmed's other daughter, who suffered significant injuries but survived.
Mr Fleming, senior coroner for West Yorkshire Western, suggested a ban on the sales of the DX C10DCER-80 Hoover tumble dryer while safety inspections are carried out.
In a Prevention of Future Deaths report, Mr Fleming said: '[The case] raises concerns that unless the model (DX C10DCER-80 Hoover branded condenser tumble dryer) and any wider product safety implications are further examined, circumstances creating a risk of future deaths may continue.
'It is my understanding that the Office for Product & Safety Standards (OPSS) has received a significant number of product fire notifications from the fire services across the UK involving this model.
'Of concern is that 1.6million of current Hoover & Candy branded condenser or vented tumble dryers may share this model's characteristics.'
Sohaib Ahmed, 38, and his nine-year-old daughter Manahal died during a fire at their house in Heckmondwike, West Yorkshire
Police at the scene after the fatal blaze, which was most likely started due to a fault in the family's tumble dryer
Hoover and Candy are sister brands owned by Haier Group.
An inquest heard that on June 8, 2025, at 6.06am, a neighbour became aware of smoke coming from the family home.
When the fire service attended at 6.19am, they immediately found Mr Ahmed unresponsive behind the front door. He was given CPR while firefighters extinguished the fire at the rear of the property on the ground floor.
Manahal was found laid on the floor in a rear first-floor bedroom and was also removed from the house and given CPR.
Resuscitation efforts continued when paramedics arrived but the father and daughter were pronounced dead after suffering fatal inhalation of fire gases.
Manahal's sister survived the incident following extensive hospital treatment.
During the inquest it was found 'more likely than not' that the source of the fire in the kitchen was a DX C10DCER-80 Hoover condenser tumble dryer.
However, the specific mechanism and circumstances of the ignition within the dryer remain undetermined and unclear.
Mr Fleming said: 'During the course of the inquest I heard evidence giving rise to concern.
'In my opinion there is a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken.
'I also heard that two experts have described how this particular type of tumble dryer may burn almost completely once the fire becomes established, making later identification of the initiating defect extremely difficult.
'I found that the evidence cannot determine whether the ignition resulted from tracking, defective solder joint, heater relay failure or another internal electrical failure, such that my concerns are that this may indicate a potentially serious mechanism failure that cannot be identified from available evidence, and therefore cannot be readily prevented.'
Mr Fleming called for a 'root cause analysis' into the DX C10DCER-80 model and to examine similar incidents with the model to try to identify possible failures.
Firefighters inspecting what appears to be a tumble dryer in the house's back garden
He also called for analysis of similar branded dryers that may share its characteristics, sending his report to Haier Smart Home UK & I Limited and the Office for Product & Safety Standards (OPSS).
A statement from OPSS provided to the coroner said: 'OPSS shares your conclusion that a root cause analysis (RCA) into the model of condenser tumble dryer present at the Ahmed family home is an important matter of concern.
'Reflecting the seriousness of the failure in this case, leading to a fatal fire, OPSS wrote to the business in December 2025 to set an expectation that Haier UK would determine the root causes of tumble dryers linked to two fatal fires, including this one.'
In their official response to the coroner, Haier Smart Home UK & I said: 'At the outset, we wish to express our deepest condolences to all of the family and friends of Sohaib and Manahal.
'Individuals at Haier UK have been profoundly affected by this tragic incident.'
The spokesman claimed there was 'no elevated safety risk' from the model – adding they did not think it was 'reasonable' to halt sales, although the model is no longer actively manufactured.
They said: 'We confirm that there are no other safety incidents where we are certain that this model is involved.
'There has been one other safety incident where the customer believed they had this model. However, it was purchased via eBay and the model could not be determined from the incomplete product details provided, or during a forensic inspection.
'We are satisfied that there is no elevated safety risk in relation to this model.'
The spokesman said the DX C10DCER-80 model is no longer on sale, with production of it and other similar Infinity platform models having ended by the first quarter of 2022.
However, they added they 'could not rule out the remote possibility' of third-party retailers still having 'very modest levels of 2022 or earlier stock'.
They said: 'We have nonetheless looked more widely than just that specific model. The above root cause analysis has evidenced to us that there is no systemic safety issue arising from the concerns.
'In these circumstances, we have determined that it is not appropriate to halt sales of the DX C10DCER-80 model, or other similar models.
'We hope that you are reassured that this is reasonable, but we do wish to emphasise that we will continue to monitor for risks and take appropriate corrective action when appropriate.'