An experienced electrician died while carrying out a "simple" job, an inquest was told yesterday.

Mark Walker, 32, of Croxdale, County Durham, was called in to move a thermostat in the DSS office at Milburngate House, Durham City on May 11 last year.

Shortly after he arrived, he was electrocuted while holding the device, which was connected to the building's 240-volt supply.

The Durham hearing was told the thermostat had been removed from a partition wall the day before by one of his colleagues but the mains had not been switched off or the circuit isolated. Colleagues told North Durham coroner Andrew Tweddle that Mr Walker, of Rogerson Terrace, had been in a rush to finish and had not been installing the thermostat in the correct position.

But they said working on "live" equipment would have been totally out of character for him.

Senior contract manager Alan Cook said: "At the time it was considered a simple job. If you're not certain about a piece of equipment, you test it."

Cause of death was recorded as electrocution. The Health and Safety Executive will present its report when the hearing continues today.