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A married couple died from carbon monoxide poisoning after using a gas heater in their camper van at a cider festival, an inquest heard.
Christopher Coll, 45, and Kayleigh Coll, 38, of Blandford Forum, Dorset, died on Oct 12, 2025, when they were exhibitors at the craft cider festival in the New Forest.
The couple’s inquests at Winchester coroner’s court heard the business owner and trainee accountant had gone to the fair to sell crafts and had stayed in their van in a field for exhibitors on site.
They were found by fellow exhibitor Alexander Huxley, who had met the pair the night before over drinks and music, after he thought it was strange they had not turned up to their stall at around 11.30am the next day.
He went to check on them and noted a strong smell of gas when he opened their door, 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”.
An inspection of the gas heater and cylinder later found that there had been a gas leak after discovering that the heater was not securely fitted to the gas bottle.
Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp, the Hampshire area coroner, 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 gas heaters – the kind used by the couple – should only be operated outdoors or in well-ventilated spaces.
In the facts of the case, the coroner said: “Overnight on [Oct 11] 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.”
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 by misadventure.
The coroner however raised concerns about whether a safety warning was 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.
“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 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 members who attended the hearings described Ms Coll as the kindest person you could ever meet, and Mr 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 off” occasion in which the couple slept in the van, as they were trying to get their business off the ground.
