Christopher Coll, 45, and Kayleigh Coll, 38, died from carbon monoxide poisoning while attending the cider craft festival in New Forest, Hampshire, on October 12 last year, an inquest has found.
The couple, from Blandford Forum, Dorset, had gone to the festival to sell crafts and stayed in their van in a field for exhibitors. The inquests were held separately at Winchester Coroner’s Court on Wednesday (22 July).
Discovery by fellow exhibitor
Fellow exhibitor Alexander Huxley, who had met the pair the night before over drinks and music, told the court he thought it was strange they did not turn up to their stall at around 11.30am the next day. He went to check on them and when he opened the door was met with a strong smell of gas. He found a gas heater with a canister attached, saw the couple not moving in the back of the van, and "turned around in shock".
An inspection of the gas heater and cylinder after their deaths found it had been used with 10% of gas left in the cylinder, and the heater was not securely fitted to the gas bottle, with a gas leak found.
Coroner's conclusion
Hampshire area coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp said: "We’ll never know how the connection became disconnected." Howard Jonas for Flogas, the company that carried out the inspection, added that parabolic heaters should only be used outdoors or in well ventilated spaces.
The coroner said: "Overnight on the 11th they suffered carbon monoxide poisoning due to running a camper gas cylinder with a heater that was not designed for use in an inside environment." She told the families she could not conclude their deaths were accidental because it was a deliberate act to put the heating on "with a totally unintended consequence". Instead, she concluded their deaths were misadventure.
Ms Rhodes-Kemp raised concerns over whether a safety warning is present on heaters to say they cannot be used in enclosed spaces. She said: "I will be contacting the manufacturers of the heater to see whether a warning is on the device itself, I think that may prevent a future death. All I can say is I am terribly sorry because it’s an absolute tragedy for two young people to die like this."
The coroner added the butane gas smell detected by Mr Huxley was largely irrelevant to their deaths as it was non-smelling carbon monoxide toxicity that was the cause of death.
Family members described Kayleigh Coll as the most kind person you could ever meet, and Christopher Coll as a very loving, good person who "absolutely adored" his children and had goals to live off the land and be self-sufficient. The inquest for Ms Coll heard from her family that the decision to sleep in the van was a "one off" occasion as they tried to get their business off the ground.
