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Corfu parents help gas campaign Corfu parents' gas safety plea
(about 6 hours later)
The parents of two children who died during a holiday in Corfu are attending the launch of a campaign to raise awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning. The families of two children who died of carbon monoxide poisoning on holiday in Corfu have called for tour operators to tighten up safety procedures.
Christianne Shepherd, seven, and her brother Robert, six, were overcome by the gas at their hotel in October. Christianne Shepherd, seven, and her brother Robert, six, of Horbury, West Yorkshire, were overcome by the gas at their hotel in October.
Neil Shepherd and Sharon Wood, from Horbury, West Yorkshire, will help to launch a carbon monoxide awareness day at the House of Lords on Tuesday. Paul Wood, husband of Sharon Wood, the children's mother, said their deaths should never have happened.
"We want to stop others dying in the same pointless way," he said.
'Happy and excited'
Mr Wood spoke on behalf of the children's families at a news conference to raise awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning.
He said: "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."
Within 10 minutes of getting into bed Christi started crying and being sick Paul Wood
The children were on a half-term holiday with their father Neil Shepherd and his partner Ruth Beatson, who were also overcome by the gas.
Mr Shepherd, speaking publicly for the first time, said the children complained of feeling unwell during the day of 25 October but seemed to have recovered.
He said: "We all went to bed at about 10.30pm or 10.45pm. We were all happy and excited, looking forward to the rest of the holiday and a boat trip the following day.
"Within 10 minutes of getting into bed Christi started crying and being sick. Ruth and I immediately got up and went to comfort the children.
The family want extra measures to prevent further tragedies
"Both Ruth and I collapsed and went into a coma. We were discovered by a chamber maid the following morning.
"Christi and Bobby were already dead. Ruth and I were treated at the local hospital and would like to thank the hospital staff for saving our lives."
It is thought the children were killed by fumes from a faulty boiler.It is thought the children were killed by fumes from a faulty boiler.
Six people in Corfu have been charged with manslaughter over their deaths. The family said they understood that British tour operators' guidelines state that boilers and other gas installations only have to be inspected once in every three years.
Mr Shepherd and his partner Ruth Beatson had taken the children on a half-term holiday when they were all overcome by the fumes. They said that was "simply not good enough", and there should at least be a proper check by a British Corgi-registered fitter every year.
The family stayed at a four-star bungalow complex Mr Wood said they also wanted tour company representatives to make carbon monoxide detectors available to holidaymakers.
The couple were hospitalised but survived. Ms Beatson and Mrs Wood's husband Paul will also attend the campaign launch. Six people in Corfu have been charged with manslaughter over the children's deaths, including the hotel director, general manager and maintenance manager.
A spokesman for The Carbon Monoxide and Gas Safety Society (CO-Gas Safety) said figures showed reported deaths due to carbon monoxide poisoning had increased by 33% between 2003/4 and 2004/5. The news conference marked the start of Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week and was organised by a series of charities and campaigners including the Carbon Monoxide and Gas Safety Society (CO-Gas Safety).
He said: "Poisonous gas emissions in homes, holiday accommodation and workplaces are a national and international disgrace. A European directive is essential." It heard from other families of victims, including Paul Overton, of Lymington, Hampshire, father of 11-year-old Katie, who died in 2003 in a rented home in Portsmouth after she was overwhelmed by fumes from a gas boiler.
CO-Gas Safety has teamed up with CO-Awareness, Consumer Safety International and The Dominic Rodgers Trust to call for the fuel and tourism industry to pay for an immediate campaign about the dangers of carbon monoxide.
At Tuesday's event they will also call for the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) to sponsor an immediate independent sample audit of holiday accommodation to current UK gas standards and for ABTA to assure the public that British tour operators will meet British standards.