Families call for killer gas awareness

The children's family were praised for their courage in attending the launch

To mark the beginning of CO Awareness week, the CO-Gas Safety group called for safety standards to be tightened for tourists booking their holidays with UK tour operators.

Their campaign is being supported by the family of Christianne and Robert Shepherd, the two children who died in a holiday bungalow in Corfu in October from the deadly gas.

At a press conference in London, an emotional statement from the family called for action to end such "pointless" deaths.

Painful memories

They said: "It is too late for Christi and Bobby, but we want to stop other holidaymakers dying in the same pointless way.

"We hope that we can contribute to pushing the multi-million pound holiday industry into providing at least a standard level of safety that will allow all future holidaymakers to be confident they will wake up in the morning and take a breath of fresh air."

We were happy and excited and looking forward to the rest of the holiday and a boat trip the following day Neil Shepherd

MP Nigel Griffiths, who co-founded Consumer Safety International, said the families concerned were brave to relive their memories.

"Never again must British holidaymakers be put in jeopardy," he said. "Out of this tragedy we must ensure the highest standards in Britain, in Europe and worldwide."

John Clarke, chairman of the national Accredited Certification Scheme, said that he had warned tour operators in the past that their standards did not meet those in the UK.

He said he had written letters to eight of the major companies in 1998, predicting just this type of tragedy.

"All the companies dismissed my letter," he said.

Six people in Corfu have been charged over the deaths

Listening to the stories of tragedies that had occurred, Helga Hyams, whose daughter Sonja died of carbon monoxide poisoning at the age of 19, in Stoke-on-Trent, said that when her daughter had died she hoped action would be taken.

She said: "I'm horrified that 10 years after my child was killed I'm still listening to this."

In an emotional statement, Mr Shepherd, recalled the night his 7-year-old daughter and six-year-old son were taken ill.

Holding hands with his partner, Ruth Beatson, he told reporters how the tragedy had unfolded. The brother and sister, who came from Horbury, near Wakefield in West Yorkshire, died on their half-term break.

On the night of 25 October, he said, they complained of feeling unwell but subsequently felt better.

By 10.30pm they were in bed. "We were happy and excited and looking forward to the rest of the holiday and a boat trip the following day," he said.

He told the news conference that just within 10 minutes, seven-year-old Christi started crying and being sick. He and his partner got up to help them but as they did, they collapsed.

"Ruth and I collapsed and went into a coma. I remained in a coma for four days and Ruth for three days."

Mr Shepherd revealed that the family were not told there was anything wrong with the bungalow - but that it had since come to light that previous guests there had been taken ill.

Public awareness

Figures show that the reported deaths in the UK due to carbon monoxide poisoning increased by 33% between 2003-4 and 2004-5. There have been a total of 443 deaths in the UK over the past 11 years.

The elderly and young are at higher risk from carbon monoxide poisoning and symptoms include headaches, nausea, vomiting and dizziness.

The boiler was blamed for the tragic deaths of Christi and Bobby

Landlords in the UK must have gas boilers inspected every year. Now campaigners want stringent safety standards applied to holiday accommodation abroad.

They also want a public awareness campaign to warn people about the dangers of the deadly gas.

The groups, including CO-Awareness, Consumer Safety International and The Dominic Rodgers Trust, want to persuade the public to buy a CO alarm, which costs about �20.

They also called for ABTA to sponsor an audit of holiday accommodation to ensure it complies with UK standards and to apply UK gas safety rules to accommodation abroad.

Holiday reps should be able to give safety awareness briefings and CO detectors should be widely available.

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