Shropshire Campsite Death: Tributes Pour In For Teenage Girl

PA  |  Posted: 07/05/2012 19:35 Updated: 08/05/2012 09:06   PA

Tributes have poured in for a teenage girl who was killed in a campsite tragedy thought to have been caused by a disposable barbecue.

Devastated friends set up a Facebook page dedicated to the schoolgirl, named locally as Hannah Thomas-Jones, who was pronounced dead at a Shropshire campsite after suffering a cardiac arrest at around 10am on Sunday.

Her parents and younger brother were all taken to hospital with suspected carbon monoxide poisoning.

Gillian Bremner, head teacher at Wilmslow High School in Cheshire, where Hannah was a pupil, said the school would release a statement tomorrow morning after a staff meeting when teachers and pupils return from the Bank Holiday break.

The family of four were discovered unconscious in their tent at the Baron at Bucknell campsite. The owners of the site said a disposable barbecue, which was used on Saturday night, was found in the porch of the tent.

Hannah, believed to be 14, was pronounced dead at the scene, despite efforts by a doctor staying on the site and paramedics to revive her.

Her teenage brother and their parents were taken to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, where they remained on Monday. West Mercia Police said the boy was stable but "unwell" and the parents were comfortable.

More than 300 people have "liked" a Facebook page set up in remembrance of Hannah, and scores of people have posted messages of condolence.

Francesca McKendrick wrote: "You will be missed so much, you were such a nice girl inside and out and no-one, especially you, deserves to die this young."

Chloe Hay posted: "Everything sucks without you, you were the highlight of my life."

Another friend said: "This beautiful girl didn't deserve to pass away but she will always be in our hearts no matter what!"

A photograph uploaded to the site shows Hannah, described as "smiley" and "amazing", grinning broadly at the camera with her arms outstretched.

Another picture shows the teenager with her arms around two female friends.

West Mercia Police said the death was being treated as unexplained but not suspicious.

Detective Inspector Gavin Kinrade said: "Although our work at the scene concluded yesterday afternoon, we will continue to work with the Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service to investigate this incident.

"We are treating the girl's death as unexplained, but there do not appear to be any suspicious circumstances. It is therefore unlikely we will have any longer-term involvement with this incident."

Phil and Debra Wright, who own the Baron at Bucknell pub and its adjacent campsite, said the family was part of a larger group made up of the mother's two sisters and their respective partners and children, staying in a number of tents on the site.

campsite carbon monoxide

The family had apparently left a disposable barbecue in the porch of their tent


In a brief statement released through the hospital, the extended family said the incident had "devastated" them and requested privacy to deal with the tragedy.

Mr Wright said the group had arrived at the site on Saturday but relatives had become concerned when nobody in the family's tent awoke on Sunday morning.

He said: "They had gone into the tent and found them all unconscious. One of the sisters came and said, 'We need an ambulance urgently'.

"There was a disposable barbecue which they had used the night before in the porch of the tent.

"The emergency services were on the scene within five minutes. They worked on the girl for some time but they couldn't save her.

"It has been devastating. It is really tragic. Nobody has done anything wrong, they have just not realised the dangers of disposable barbecues.

"You don't realise that they are giving off fumes for hours and hours after you have used them."

Mr Wright said the family were planning to stay for the duration of the Bank Holiday weekend.

His wife sobbed as she described how the couple had called local paramedics and a nurse who lives nearby when the alarm was first raised at around 9.45am.

She said: "It was absolutely awful."

In brief statement released by the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital on their behalf, the extended family said: "Our priority as a family is to ensure that the three people in hospital get well and are fully recovered.

"We are devastated by this tragic accident and will release a full statement at a later date.

"We would ask that you respect our privacy at this time."

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Tributes have poured in for a teenage girl who was killed in a campsite tragedy thought to have been caused by a disposable barbecue. Devastated friends set up a Facebook page dedicated to the scho...
Tributes have poured in for a teenage girl who was killed in a campsite tragedy thought to have been caused by a disposable barbecue. Devastated friends set up a Facebook page dedicated to the scho...
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11:26 AM on 05/08/2012
So sad.
I thought it was common knowledge not to leave a used bbq in a tent or use it in a tent?
Also people knew to dowse a used bbq with a bucket of water after use.
Warning to everyone in future. Unfortunately.
RIP
09:01 AM on 05/08/2012
This is another case that should be investigated by Trading Standards Officers - they are responsible for enforcing consumer protection laws which include labelling things so that people can make safe use of them. The question they need to ask is "was the barbeque properly labelled"? Trading Standards Officers are really important - why is the government making them redundant? The more TSOs are made redundant, the more tragedies will happen as there will be no one out there policing the safety of consumer products.
11:20 AM on 05/08/2012
Err, which part of breathing in combustible fumes is not understood in this country, do we really need to be told that fumes from barbies, car exhausts or anything where ignition has occurred could be hazardous, the blame lies with those ill educated enough to do tricks like this, trading standards imo wouldn't be needed if people weren't so downright stupid.
02:50 PM on 05/08/2012
Your comments are a bit harsh I think. The fact is people do daft things and whilst most of us would probably know not to light a barbeque inside I expect there are many who do not realise the dangers once the thing has been extinguished.
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iLdoRight
Encouraging The Rightest Rightness
07:44 AM on 05/08/2012
Sad, but I am curious to know where the glowing coals were and how air tight the tent was and how many were in the tent and if their breathing depleted the oxygen significantly, or if it was just a glowing BBQ being inside the tent that was solely the culprit.
09:13 AM on 05/08/2012
Tents aren't airtight. This happens surprisingly and depressingly often. People just don't think that a BBQ is going to give off CO.
07:29 AM on 05/08/2012
Contrary to what the 'Smart Asses', who like to appear to have been wise BEFORE the event, it wasn't generally known by the General Public, that disposable BBQs, were a dangerous source of Carbon Monoxide, and seemingly draughty tents would allow a build up, to a fatal level.
One can only offer sincere condolences to this poor girl's surviving family, and hope that her sad death will save many many others.
01:51 PM on 05/08/2012
Well said anne - I am with you on this. I am more than aware about all the dangerous emissions but I would have thought a tent of all things, would have a good airflow and maybe in the past they did when you laid the ground sheet after putting up and fixing down the tents. Nowadays though that are made all-in-one, are sealed, and could almost be blown up like a balloon if it were not for the entrance zips. Even these however have waterproof strips over them. So a tent is practically a sealed compartment and an accident waiting to happen in cases like this. Such a sad sad accident and that is what it is, an accident. My heart goes out to the parents and siblings for the future and my prayers for the little girl who lost her life. I hope this tragic event can at least save future lives.
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Christos Palmer
Χριστός Παλμερ
05:10 AM on 05/08/2012
Terrible tragedy to lose a child, these things should have warnings placed on them that they release carbon monoxide long after they been used. I'm off camping next month, I won't be using them.
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03:22 AM on 05/08/2012
i feel for all of them..rip little one..with respect luka.
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dontcareless
i am an all you can eat love buffet
01:01 AM on 05/08/2012
i did not know that once the bbq has been seen to be extinquished that the fumes would still be present and dangerous enough to kill you...Am i misreading this ?? did they leave it smouldering on , in an attempt to keep themselves warm?? or is it that once the bbq has been used and is dying out with embers dying, is still dangerous??pls advise
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AlanDente
Noses: made to hold glasses
02:50 PM on 05/08/2012
Cheshire Fire Service (a search took me all of 3 mins, perhaps you could do one to?):

Be carbon monoxide aware
Never use fuel-burning devices (e.g. disposable barbecues, camping stoves, camping heaters, lanterns, and charcoal grills) inside a tent.

Using these indoors can cause Carbon Monoxide (CO) poisoning.
They give off fumes for hours and hours after you have used them - levels high enough to result in CO poisoning.
To avoid hazardous CO exposures, fuel-burning equipment should never be used inside a tent, camper, or other enclosed shelter.

Fuel-burning equipment can include:
camping stoves
camping heaters
lanterns
charcoal grills
disposable barbecues
Opening tent flaps, doors, or windows is insufficient to prevent build-up of CO concentrations from these devices.
Also, when using fuel-burning devices outdoors, the exhaust should not vent into enclosed shelters.
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dontcareless
i am an all you can eat love buffet
04:49 PM on 05/08/2012
thanx for that ..truly something that until now has ever crossed my mind..a big thank you for your assistance x
11:39 PM on 05/07/2012
Why are people so judgemental-this family made a mistake and paid for it dearly-the last thing they need is judgemental smart-asses-sprouting advice-these poeple like the sound of their own voices and don't care a fig for the people they hurt with their nasty comments. I'm sure the survivors of the tent will have enough guilt to live with without others piling it on.
11:17 PM on 05/07/2012
another sad case,this has been highlighted before, cannot understand the parents,could have took the lives of all of them.
10:43 PM on 05/07/2012
Message People. DO NOT use your barbeque INSIDE YOUR TENTas a heat source...can KILL YOU!!
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nottonguetied
08:37 PM on 05/07/2012
evidently there needs now to be more public awareness about disposable barbecues
09:55 PM on 05/07/2012
Evidently there needs to be more people who use some common sense and do not put something with smouldering chemicals near where people are going to breathe said chemicals in.

We can't foresee every stupid act.
10:03 PM on 05/07/2012
I wouldn't call it a stupid act; just ill thought out in the sad and tragic circumstances.
02:26 PM on 05/08/2012
Crawl back under your rock you nasty individual.
10:25 PM on 05/07/2012
Talk about teaching health and safety in the schools on this site and you will have every Tory screeching about political correctness gone mad.

We should be teaching more practical safety in schools.
10:43 PM on 05/07/2012
RIGHT NOW THE TORIES HAVE GOT A LOT MORE TO WORRY ABOUT THAN HEALTH AND SAFETY
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