The death of a couple at the New Forest Cider Festival has been ruled as misadventure.
Kayleigh Coll, 38 and Christopher Coll, 45, were found dead in a Nissan Motor Campervan at Pound Lane, Burley, on October 12, 2025.
The deaths were ruled as misadventure, with the cause being carbon monoxide toxicity due to the use of a gas cylinder-powered heater in an enclosed space.
The inquest for the couple, from Blandford Forum in Dorset, was heard at Winchester Coroner’s Court on July 22.
Coroner Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp said: “I’m terribly sorry, it's an absolute tragedy, two young people to die like this.”
The couple were attending the Craft Cider festival in the New Forest as exhibitors, running a stall showing wares from Mr Coll’s small business Mystacoll’s Spirit, which specialised in handmade copper trees with gemstones.
The couple were found by a fellow exhibitor, Alexander Huxley, on the morning of October 12, as he was concerned about them not setting up their stall.
Mr Huxley, who had first met the couple the day before, said he had spent the evening with them, drinking, talking and listening to music.
The next day, when they hadn’t arrived to set up their stall, he knocked on the campervan door at 10am, but received no answer, so he assumed they were not inside.
At 11.30, when the stall was still not set up, he opened the passenger door and was hit by ‘a wall of gas.’
He discovered a gas heater set in between the front seats, which was turned on but had no flame.
The heater was screwed on top of a gas cylinder, with expert Howard Jones, from Flogas Britain, advising that a gas heater of this type should only be used outdoors or in a well-ventilated environment.
He explained that it is likely that the unit was in use at some point, as the valve was on, which would produce carbon monoxide, which is odourless, during combustion.
He explained that it is likely that the oxygen in the vicinity was reduced due to the production of carbon monoxide, causing the flame to go out.
An expert from Flogas had examined the cylinder after the incident and discovered that there was ‘a substantial gas leak’ around the connection point between the heater and top of the cylinder.
This caused the butane and propane gas to leak, creating the ‘wall of gas’ when Mr Huxley opened the door, but is not a factor in their death.
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The couple had been together for around four years,
Christopher’s sister, Kelly Simonsohn said: “He was a good person, very loving. He absolutely adored his kids. Very family-centred, traditional.
“He loved his family very much. The goal was to live off the land and be self-sufficient.”
Speaking at the inquest, Kayleigh’s mother, Mara Sivyer, described her daughter: “She was an angel and the most kind-hearted person you would ever meet.
“If she thought you needed her last pound she would give it to you.”
Their deaths were ruled as a misadventure, with Ms Rhodes-Kemp explaining: “It was a deliberate act to turn the heater on with totally unintended consequences.”
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