A couple who died in their sleep in their camper van were poisoned by a leaking gas canister, an inquest has heard. Kayleigh Coll, 38, and Christopher Coll, 45, of Blandford Forum, Dorset, were staying over at a cider craft festival in the New Forest on October 12 last year.
Discovery and investigation
Their inquests held separately at Winchester Coroner’s Court on Wednesday heard the business owner and trainee accountant had gone to the fair to sell crafts and stayed in their van in a field for exhibitors on site. They were discovered dead by fellow exhibitor Alexander Huxley, who had met the pair the night before over drinks and music, after he thought it was strange they did not turn up to their stall at around 11.30 the next morning.
He went to check on them and when he opened the door was met with a strong smell of gas, the inquest heard. He found a gas heater with a canister attached to it, and saw the couple not moving in the back of the van and "turned around in shock".
Gas leak and cause of death
An inspection of the gas heater and cylinder after the couple’s 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 and a gas leak was found. Hampshire area coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp said: "We’ll never know how the connection became disconnected."
Giving evidence at the inquest, 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. In the facts of the case, 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."
Conclusion of misadventure
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.
The coroner however raised concerns over whether a safety warning is present on heaters to say they cannot be used in enclosed spaces. Ms Rhodes-Kemp 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." She added: "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 tributes
Family members who attended the hearings 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 this was a one occasion the couple slept in the van, as a "one off" as they tried to get their business off the ground.
