The mother of a newlywed killed by carbon monoxide poisoning has spoken out to try and stop similar accidents.

Katie Haines, 31, was found dead by her husband in February, just two months after the couple's wedding.

Now Mrs Haines’ mum Avril Samuel, who lives in Wimbledon Village, has spoken out about the accident during national carbon monoxide awareness week, which ends on Sunday.

Mrs Haines, who worked as a press officer at Oxford University, had fainted into the bath at her house in Wokingham after being overcome by carbon monoxide.

Her father-in-law and husband Richard, who discovered her body after returning home from work, also suffered carbon monoxide poisoning but survived.

The couple had married on December 12 at a church ceremony in the Cotswolds, and travelled to Brazil and Argentina on honeymoon later that month.

On Monday Mrs Haines’ parents visited the House of Lords to mark the start of the awareness week, which aims to see more homes fitted with audible carbon monoxide detectors.

Mrs Samuel said carbon monoxide was a “silent killer”, and deaths from it were more common than people thought.

The gas can leak from faulty boilers and gas appliances like cookers and heaters, causing sickness and death.

Mrs Samuel said the poisoning was often missed because its symptoms were similar to flu.

She also said shortly after the accident one of her daughter’s friends had bought a carbon monoxide detector - and, when it went off as soon as it was installed, saved her own family from a potentially lethal gas leak.

Mrs Haines’ friends have set up a website, katiehaines.com, to commemorate her life.

Marathons, runs and sponsored dance classes have raised cash for a memorial trust set up in her name.