A couple who died on a holiday with their loved ones were killed by carbon monoxide, a coroner has ruled. John and Susan Cooper passed away during a family trip to the Steigenberger Aqua Magic Hotel in the Red Sea resort of Hurghada on August 21, 2018.

Kelly Ormerod said her parents, from Burnley, had been having a "brilliant" time on the vacation before tragedy struck. Preston Coroner's Court heard that they were poisoned in their sleep after the adjoining room was sprayed with pesticide and chemicals to kill a bed bug infestation.

The pesticide was diluted with dichloromethane, a chemical that creates carbon monoxide. The vapour entered the Coopers' room via the gap beneath a locked door.

Kelly's 12-year-old daughter, Molly, had been staying in her grandparents' room, but began to feel ill and John, 69, took her to her mother's room. After her parents missed breakfast the following morning, Ms Ormerod went to their room and found them both seriously ill.

John, a builder, was declared dead in the room. Susan, a cashier in a Thomas Cook bureau de change, was rushed to hospital but the 63-year-old passed away shortly afterwards.

Dr James Adeley, senior coroner for Lancashire, on Friday ruled that the deaths were caused by the spraying of the pesticide containing the chemical dichloromethane in the adjoining room and the couple then inhaling the vapour, resulting in their deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning.

He said the spraying had created sufficient vapour to pass under the adjoining door and poison the couple during their 10-hour exposure to the substances.

Earlier, the three-day inquest heard from toxicology expert Professor Robert Chilcott. He told the hearing that in less developed countries the pesticide Lambda is sometimes diluted with the substance dichloromethane, which causes the body to metabolise or ingest carbon monoxide.

After the three-day inquest hearing Ms Ormerod read a statement from the family outside the court. They said: “Our family still struggle to comprehend what we went through that day and feel like it should never have happened. The last few years have been the most traumatic time for all of us.

“Having to relive everything at the inquest has been harrowing but it was something we had to do for mum and dad. Our family is broken without them.”

Jatinder Paul, a lawyer from Irwin Mitchell, representing the family, added: “To find out that the couple died from a pesticide that had been sprayed in an adjoining room, leading to carbon monoxide poisoning, is shocking and deeply concerning. It’s now vital that lessons are learned to ensure a tragedy like this doesn’t happen to future holidaymakers.”

The German-owned hotel chain has been contacted for comment.

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