A MAINTENANCE engineer who failed to fix a faulty whirlpool bath which later killed a ten-year-old North-East girl has been ordered to pay her family £15,000 compensation.

Melissa Blagdon and her eight-year-old sister, Lauren, were enjoying a family day out at a leisure club in Dubai when the accident happened.

As Melissa dived to the bottom of the 4ft pool, her hair became trapped in a suction pump.

Lauren and two other girls in the pool did not realise she was stuck until it was too late.

An inquest in Darlington earlier this year ruled that Melissa's death at the exclusive Metropolitan Beach Club was accidental.

But the authorities in Dubai brought charges against the resort's chief engineer, Sadanath Yapa, for inadvertently causing her death by failing to replace a faulty part in the pool.

The 47 year-old Sri Lankan admitted that one of the filters was broken and he had ordered a replacement, but was unable to fix it properly as he had been sold a part that was not original.

The Dubai Court of First Instance held him partially responsible for the death and fined him 10,000 dirhams (£2,000) and ordered that he pay 75,000 dirhams (£15,000) to Melissa's parents, Gary and Stephanie.

Islamic law prescribes that diya, or "blood money", is paid to the heirs of a person whose death is caused fully or in part by the actions of another.

Charges were also brought against Filipino lifeguard Jeffery Garlo, 28, who had been on duty the day Melissa died.

But he was cleared of any blame because there was a sign near the pool barring children aged under 16 from using it.

Mr Blagdon, 40, who works in Dubai but is from Country Durham, had told the inquest that Melissa was a good swimmer and had been playing in the pool with her eight year-old sister, Lauren, and two other children.

"Melissa dived under the water and felt the suction from a vent catching her hair," he said.

"She thought it was a game and that it was a bit of fun and did it a few times. Then she went too close and the suction pulled her down.

"The others didn't notice. They couldn't see Melissa because of the bubbles."

When the bubbles stopped, Lauren dived under to try to pull her sister up but the suction was too great.

Mr Blagdon had been 100 yards away from the pool at the members-only club.

He ran to help when Lauren began to cry for assistance and eventually managed to free his daughter, but attempts to revive her failed.

"It was all too late. She was already dead. She had been in the water some considerable time," he said.

The court in Dubai heard that Mr Blagdon did not blame anyone for the death, saying Melissa "should have been more careful"