A South West couple’s lives were tragically cut short due to carbon monoxide poisoning caused by a gas leak in their campervan at a cider festival. Christopher Coll, 45, and his wife Kayleigh, 38, from Blandford Forum, Dorset, were found dead on October 12 last year, having traveled to the New Forest to exhibit at a cider craft fair.
The inquest at Winchester Coroner’s Court revealed that Christopher, a business owner, and Kayleigh, a trainee accountant, opted to sleep overnight in their campervan on the event’s exhibitors’ field after socializing late into the evening with other stallholders. The following morning, fellow exhibitor Alexander Huxley discovered their lifeless bodies upon checking their van after they failed to show up at their stall by 11:30 am.
Mr. Huxley recalled a strong smell of gas upon opening their campervan’s door. Inside, he found a gas heater connected to a cylinder, which emitted a leak. Investigations confirmed the heater was improperly fitted to the gas canister, which still contained 10% gas. The coroner noted that it remains unclear how the gas connection became detached.
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Experts from Flogas, the inspecting firm, explained that the type of parabolic heater used is intended solely for outdoor or well-ventilated environments. Running the gas heater inside the confined space of the campervan led to fatal carbon monoxide poisoning.
Hampshire area coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp stated that while the couple’s deaths were accidental, they were the result of a deliberate decision to use the heater indoors—an act with unintended deadly consequences. The official cause of death has been recorded as misadventure.
The coroner raised concerns regarding whether sufficient safety warnings are displayed on such heaters to prevent similar tragedies, promising to contact manufacturers to explore the matter further.
Despite the presence of a noticeable butane gas odor, the coroner emphasized that carbon monoxide—an odorless, deadly gas—was the true cause of death. Family members paid heartfelt tributes, remembering Kayleigh as an exceptionally kind person and Christopher as a devoted father and loving husband with aspirations for a self-sufficient lifestyle.
The inquest also revealed this was a rare occasion for the couple to sleep in the van, describing it as a one-off event linked to their efforts to grow their business.