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Inquest opens over boy killed by suspected gas poisoning during floods Mother tells inquest whole family fell ill days before Zane's death
(about 5 hours later)
The tearful mother of a seven-year-old boy believed to have died from toxic gas poisoning during severe winter flooding in Surrey has told an inquest that her son “walked in truth, and we are here to make sure he dies in truth”. The mother of a seven-year-old boy believed to have died from deadly toxic fumes during severe winter flooding has told an inquest that the family fell ill in the days before his death but had “no reason to think that the house was poisoning us”.
Zane Gbangbola was found in bed and not breathing after the family’s Chertsey home was flooded during some of the worst winter storms in years in February 2014. An inquest at Woking coroner’s court heard there were two competing theories over how he died. Nicole Lawler, 39, a company director, broke down as she described finding her son, Zane Gbangbola, in bed and not breathing at the family’s home in Chertsey, Surrey, which flooded on 7 February 2014 during some of the worst winter storms in years.
His family believe he may have been killed by deadly hydrogen cyanide gas in floodwater that seeped into the house from a nearby lake, which was a former landfill site. The other is that he may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Zane’s parents believe their son died from hydrogen cyanide poisoning when water from a lake on a former landfill site flooded into their basement. Zane’s father, Kye, 50, was left paralysed from the waist down and in a wheelchair after the flood.
His father, Kye Gbangbola, 50, remains a paraplegic, paralysed from the waist down and in a wheelchair, following the flood. The coroner Richard Travers, sitting at Woking coroner’s court, has heard that a competing theory will be that Zane may have died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
Zane died after being rushed to hospital at 3.30am on 8 February 2014. Describing the “drama” of the days leading up to Zane’s death, Lawler said her son had been off school with what was thought to be a cold, but which returned on 30 January.
His father, also a company director, began vomiting shortly afterwards, felt very ill and could not get out of bed for a couple of days “because his spleen and other organs were aching”. Lawler said she felt very dizzy herself and eventually went to her GP with “terrible” chest pains, and was prescribed antibiotics for a suspected chest infection.
Lawler said: “We thought we had caught whatever Zane had. We had no reason to think that the house was poisoning us.”
Related: Parents' fight for justice after seven-year-old son dies in winter floodsRelated: Parents' fight for justice after seven-year-old son dies in winter floods
Opening evidence in the long-awaited inquest, the coroner Richard Travers said: “It is likely that the fact Zane died as a result of toxicity will not be in contention. The question may well be which toxic substance was responsible. It may be that is a more contentious issue.” He said the question would likely be “whether it was as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning or hydrogen cyanide poisoning”. The couple had been flooded in January that year. The weekend Zane died, they had been warned to expect a further 12 inches of rain. In preparation, the owners of nearby mobile homes and caravans had begun using industrial diggers to excavate a gravel pit to build a bund to protect their homes, Lawler said.
Zane’s mother, Nicole Lawler, 39, wearing a red fabric poppy that has become a symbol of his parents’ campaign for a full debate into his death, told the inquest that her son was “a gift that kept on giving”. “At the time, we didn’t know that was a potentially toxic landfill site they would be disturbing,” she said.
She described him as generous and kind, and said that she and his father had cherished every moment they had spent with him. He had all the ingredients of a perfect child, she said. The couple had built a dam in front of their Victorian home, she said, and had eight electrical pumps that were being used in the soil-floored flood basement. Worried that they might lose their electricity and be unable to use these pumps, Lawler hired a petrol-driven pump from Surrey Hire and Sales. She was given a “quick demonstration” but no safety instructions came with it, she said.
The family’s Victorian home at Thameside in Surrey, had a basement that was partially flooded, and Zane’s parents had addressed the problem “with a number of electric pumps”, said the coroner. On 6 February 2014 they hired a petrol-driven pump. Lawler told the inquest that they had not used the petrol pump, nor bought petrol for it, but had set it up and switched it on several times on the morning of 7 February to see whether it worked using the small amount of petrol that was in its tank when they hired it. Lawler said they planned to buy petrol if they required it from a nearby garage, as they did not want to store petrol at their home.
On 7 February 2014, Zane went to school as normal and was well, the coroner said. That evening he stayed up to watch television with his mother and fell asleep and was taken to bed. Describing the night Zane died, Lawler said five electrical pumps were working, three at the back and two at the front of the property.
“His mother checked on him through the night. At 3.30am on 8 February she found that he was not breathing,” the coroner said. Lawler telephoned an ambulance and she attempted to resuscitate him following instructions. Zane was taken by ambulance to hospital “where tragically his death was pronounced”. Zane had a bath and then he and his mother snuggled up to watch the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in one of the bedrooms while his father worked in another room.
Zane’s parents were found to be unwell at the same time. His mother has made a full recovery. After Zane fell asleep, Lawler said she regularly checked the electric pumps downstairs, and in between dozed at the foot of her son’s bed. At 3.30am she noticed his snoring had stopped.
The inquest is expected to last six weeks and hear from 78 witnesses. She called 999 immediately. “He was not breathing at all. He was lying sort of on his front,” she said. As she performed CPR, she was unaware of where Kye was.
Cabinet Office documents relating to a Cobra meeting held at the time of the flooding have yet to be tracked down despite requests from Zane’s family and the coroner. Travers said he was struggling to obtain information about who could release the documents. Leslie Thomas QC, acting for the family, said: “It is a little surprising that it can’t be tracked down, even if it is to say you are not entitled to it.” Lawler said: “I was losing my child. If you have children you are not going to leave your child. Kye was not a concern with me. I paid no attention whatsoever.”
The public gallery was packed with people who had come to support Zane’s parents, wearing the red fabric poppy. Dressed in black and wearing a red fabric poppy, which has become a symbol of his parents’ campaign for a full investigation into Zane’s death, Lawler said: “He walked in truth and we are here to make sure he dies in truth.”
The couple have been forced to crowdfund to pay for legal representation at the inquest, after twice being refused legal aid despite support from the coroner for their application. One anonymous donor contributed £25,000 on Friday, bringing the amount raised to £3,000 short of the £75,000 required. More than 30,000 people have signed a petition calling for an investigation and public debate into Zane’s death. Lawler said Zane was “a gift that kept on giving”. Wiping away tears, she described him as “generous and kind” and said his parents would “cherish every moment we were together”. He had “so many qualities” and “all the ingredients of a perfect child”.
Lawler said Public Health England would not let the couple return to their home until one year after their son’s death. She said their insurance company, concerned about “migrating gases”, had insisted on installing a gas-proof membrane, extra chimney vents and hydrogen cyanide alarms and other measures as well as rebuilding interior plaster walls, because gases could travel up those walls.
Asked by the coroner whether her neighbours had installed similar safety measures since Zane’s death, she replied: “Some neighbours have been so frightened they have spent £60-70,000 to put in their own gas-proof membrane. Some neighbours don’t have the money to do that and they are living on a ticking timebomb.”
Lawler denied she had told a hospital doctor, Tariq Bhatti, who pronounced Zane’s time of death, about using a petrol pump. “I recall him telling me about the hydrogen cyanide and not being able to return to my home. I didn’t discuss the petrol pump with him,” she said.
In his opening remarks, the coroner said: “It is likely that Zane died as a result of toxicity will not be in contention. The question may well be which toxic substance was responsible. It may be that is a more contentious issue.” Travers added that the question would likely be “whether it was as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning or hydrogen cyanide poisoning”.
The inquest is expected to last six weeks and will hear from 78 witnesses.
Cabinet Office minutes relating to a Cobra meeting held at the time of the flooding have yet to be “tracked down” despite requests from Zane’s family and the coroner. Travers said he was struggling to obtain information about who could release the documents. Leslie Thomas QC, representing the family, said: “It is a little surprising that it can’t be tracked down, even if it is to say you are not entitled to it.”
Zane’s parents have been forced to crowdfund to pay for legal representation at the inquest after twice being refused legal aid despite support from the coroner for their application. One anonymous donor contributed £25,000 on Friday, bringing the amount raised to £3,000 short of the £75,000 required. More than 30,000 people have signed a petition calling for an investigation and public debate into Zane’s death.
The hearing continues.