Coroner criticises npower for wrongly cutting off man's electricity in -10C temperatures before he was poisoned by generator he installed to stay warm Michael Hirrell's power supply to his rented flat came from a shop below But when the shop was vacated, npower staff arrived to cut the supply off Mr Hirrell, who was not an npower customer, explained this would leave him with no electricity but the decision was made to switch it off He was forced to use a borrowed petrol generator in his flat to keep warm Mr Hirrell was found dead in his flat from carbon monoxide poisoning A man was poisoned by fumes from a petrol generator he was forced to put in his flat after his electricity was disconnected during freezing weather, an inquest heard. Michael Hirrell, 48, turned on the machine in his kitchen after npower wrongly cut off his electricity as temperatures plunged to -10C. He was overcome by carbon monoxide from the generator and was found dead in home in Belgrave, Leicester, by his son and a friend. An inquest at the city's Town Hall was told Mr Hirrell's body was found on January 25 - eight days after energy supplier npower cut off his supply. Tragedy: Michael Hirrell, 48, was found dead in his flat from carbon monoxide emitted from a generator inside his home on Cross Street, Belgrave, Leicester, pictured, eight days after npower cut off his electricity Coroner Lydia Brown said Mr Hirrell's electricity was disconnected when temperatures dropped below zero. She added: 'The wrong decision was made with catastrophic consequences.' The hearing was told the rented flat's power supply came from a shop below which had been vacated with unpaid bills. Mr Hirrell was not a registered npower customer and was unaware of the arrears when company officials turned up to disconnect the supply. The inquest heard he explained he would be left without power. But despite npower staffs' concerns, caused by the poor weather and him looking unwell, a decision was eventually taken to cut him off. As a result, Mr Hirrell borrowed the generator from a friend - with fatal consequences. Tests showed fatal levels of carbon monoxide in Mr Hirrell's body. The hearing was told that under the Energy UK Safety Net Voluntary Agreement, which npower had signed, domestic customers such as the elderly, disabled, and those on benefits should not be cut off. However, as Mr Hirrell was getting his supply from a commercial premises, he was not recognised as a customer or deemed to be vulnerable, despite being on housing benefits. Npower's risk and debt manager Karen Kelsey told the inquest: 'It didn't happen here because the meter was a commercial meter.' Criticism: Coroner Lydia Brown criticised npower for making the 'wrong decision' which had 'catastrophic consequences' during an inquest into Mr Hirrell's death at Leicester Town Hall, pictured Mrs Brown criticised the company for failing to establish whether he was vulnerable before cutting the power. She said: 'It was a rather stark outcome. Nobody made any common sense decision that here was a man about to be cut off. All the excuses I have heard about him not being a customer are nonsense. Kevin Elliott, representing the power supplier, said: 'Plainly, from npower's perspective this is a deep tragedy and measures have been taken to make sure it doesn't happen again.' The court heard the company now carries out additional checks before disconnection and, as part of a trial, no customers would be disconnected between October and March. Mrs Brown recorded a narrative verdict and said she would write to npower, energy watchdog Ofgem and suppliers" trade organisation Energy UK to raise her concerns about the case to try to prevent similar tragedies in the future. After the hearing, Mr Hirrell's sister Bridie Hirrell said: 'We are angry. Npower should not have cut him off. He was clearly vulnerable. I am glad the coroner is going to send them a letter but it will not bring Mick back. We have lost a brother, a son, a father and a grandad. An npower spokesman said: 'We were saddened to hear about the death of Mr Hirrell and our condolences go out to his family and friends. 'We have co-operated fully and openly with the coroner's investigation and have since reviewed and strengthened our processes.'