A family are raising awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning as they mark the 10th anniversary of their daughter's death in line with Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week.

Katie Haines, 31, tragically died of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning at her home on February 18 2010. Two months after her 'beautiful' wedding to her husband Richard Haines.

Her mother and father, Gordon and Avril Samuel, founded The Katie Haines Memorial Trust later that year to raise awareness of the 'silent killer'.

"Katie was a journalist and we know that if something similar had happened to us, she would have used her skills to raise awareness," says Mrs Avril Samuel.

The Katie Haines Memorial Trust aims to highlight the dangers of the poisonous gas and the measures that can be taken against it.

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Carbon monoxide is colourless, odourless and tasteless- symptoms can be similar to other illnesses, such as food poisoning or the flu.

"It is important that people recognise the danger that CO can bring - it can be fatal but from low-level poisoning, it can cause long term neurological conditions,"  said Avril.

Last year, to commemorate Katie's birthday, the family kindly donated 40 alarms to 40 Fire stations for their vulnerable clients, which included 120 to Merton and 40 for Sutton.

"When the pandemic occured, we decided to continue giving 40 to various foodbanks such as Wimbledon, Earlsfield, Black Prince Trust (Vauxhall), Cirencester and Swindon."

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She added: "These are in addition to thousands of alarms we have given over the years to other charities, including British Red Cross, the Wimbledon Guild, HomeStart etc...

With people staying in more but with little money, they might not be able to afford to get their appliances serviced by a registered engineer."

Although it is difficult to track progress on their awareness, the family often receive letters thanking them for their campaign.

Speaking about the letters, Avril Samuel added: "It makes us grateful that some good has come out of our tragedy.

"We'd much rather have our daughter still with us, but it is some comfort to know that knowing her story is saving lives.

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"Last year Katie would have been 40 and we know she was a party girl and like so many of her friends, she would have been celebrating in style.

"We held a memorial service in March 2019 to commemorate her birthday, it was held in the same church she got married to Richard in, where we held a funeral."

Avril added: "The government has announced a new consultation following Grenfell, which we will contribute to. It will make our homes safer, something we have been working towards for some time.

"We do welcome it, but we would like to see carbon monoxide alarms in all homes.

"We have never understood why it wasn't mandatory for landlords to install alarms in all their properties where there are carbon burning appliances installed, not just solid fuel, as at present.

"We really don't want more people to die unnecessarily from this silent killer."

For more information visit https://www.katiehainestrust.com/.

The Katie Haines Memorial Trust released a short film in line with carbon monoxide week. It can be viewed here.