Gas heater warning at student's death inquest

Tom Hill died after being found unconscious in a bathroom at the cottage in 2015

A coroner has warned of the dangers of gas heaters at an inquest into a student's death from carbon monoxide poisoning at a holiday cottage in Angus.

Tom Hill, 18, from Hampshire, died while staying at Glenmark Cottage near Tarfside with the family of his girlfriend Charlotte Beard in October 2015.

A previous investigation found that cracks in a bathroom heater led to it producing carbon monoxide at dangerous levels.

Coroner Jason Pegg recorded a conclusion of accidental death and said he would prepare a preventing future deaths report about the lack of warnings on liquid petroleum gas (LPG) heaters.

Cracks in a bathroom heater in the cottage led to it producing carbon monoxide at dangerous levels

He said a Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found the LPG cabinet heater should not have been used in a room as small as the bathroom, which had no ventilation because the windows had been painted shut.

Mr Pegg added that damage to the heater was also a "crucial factor".

He said: "The primary feature from the HSE is the heater should not be used in such a confined place."

Mr Hill collapsed and died 11 days after the holiday home operator was told about a previous tenant becoming unwell.

The inquest, which was held in Winchester, heard that a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) was also held in Scotland in 2023 into Mr Hill's death.

The FAI said external reasonable precautions could have been taken by the firm that could have avoided Mr Hill's death.

Cottage owners Burghill Farms and Piers Le Cheminant, who sub-let the property to holidaymakers, were prosecuted for health and safety breaches in 2021, with the farm being fined £120,000 and Le Cheminant being fined £2,000.

Mr Pegg added: "My concern is that in rental cottages and some tented properties, there are going to be heaters of this nature in rooms that are too small which does raise a concern for future deaths."

Charlotte Beard's father, Mark Beard, told the inquest that a carbon monoxide alarm in the kitchen had gone off on the evening of 27 October and he had switched off all appliances in that room and opened the windows.

He said he had not realised that the cause of the carbon monoxide leak was a liquid petroleum gas (LPG) cabinet heater in the bathroom.

Mr Beard said: "One of my lifelong regrets is that I hadn't taken notice of the bathroom heater as seriously as I might have done."

Mr Beard said he was upstairs when he heard his daughter getting upset at being unable to get a response from Mr Hill, who was in the locked bathroom.

He said his son then used a wood axe to break open the door and they found Mr Hill by the bath which was still running and flowing into the overflow.

Mr Beard, an engineer, said there were no instructions or warnings attached to the cabinet heater, although there was a warning inside which was only visible when the canisters were replaced.

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Hill's father Jerry called for similar LPG heaters to be banned and for mandatory warnings and advice to be placed in rental properties.

He said: "We think people aren't really aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide and what to do when an alarm goes off."