Call for carbon monoxide advice after son's death

Hudson Foley travelled to South America to practise his Spanish and do volunteer work

A Surrey MP has urged the government to include carbon monoxide risks in its travel advice, following the death of a man on a visit to Ecuador.

Hudson Foley, 24, had travelled to South America in May 2023 to improve his Spanish and do volunteer work.

On 30 August 2023, Hudson was found dead in the bathroom of his host family after he had spoken to his mother, Cathy Foley, on the phone and then gone for a shower.

The initial ruling of Hudson's death was acute pulmonary edema, a condition where excess fluids fill the lungs. Mrs Foley later found he had actually died of carbon monoxide poisoning and her local MP Al Pinkerton is supporting her in raising awareness.

Mrs Foley did not believe her son died from acute pulmonary edema

Mrs Foley, who is from Camberley, refused to accept the first diagnosis, saying her son was a "clean-living lad".

She told Radio Surrey: "Hudson didn't drink, didn't take drugs, had a fantastic appetite, exercised.

"So that [diagnosis] made absolutely no sense to me."

She headed to Ecuador to find specialist doctors and translators, and demanded a post-mortem, which revealed carbon monoxide poisoning as the cause of death.

Dr Pinkerton said his proposal to update the UK's guidance for travellers received "unanimous support" from different parties.

"Thanks to Cathy's tenacity, the true story behind Hudson's death is being heard today," he added.

"From school trips abroad, to travel companies, the travel industry uses information from the Gov.uk website and feeds it into the corporate and institutional risk assessments and travel guides.

"I know, because I've done this myself when organising overseas casework and fieldtrips in the university sector."

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