Man, 36, ‘slowly gassed to death' after car filled with deadly poison – as heartbroken sister fights for change in law

The Irish Sun

28-04-2025

THE sister of a man who was "slowly killed" when his car filled up with a deadly gas is fighting for a change in the law.
Lucy Barnard, 25, lost her older brother Michael Barnard aged 36 after he inhaled a large amount of carbon monoxide exhaust over a period of weeks from his white Volkswagen Scirocco.
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Michael Barnard died in 2023 aged 36 after he inhaled a large amount of toxic carbon monoxide
Credit: SWNS
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Lucy Barnard is the sister of a man who was 'slowly' gassed to death after his car's heating system filled his vehicle with a 'deadly' poison
Credit: SWNS
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Michael's sister is urging road users to fit their cars with a 'life-saving' sensor
Credit: SWNS
The colourless gas entered the vehicle through a fault heating system.
Following the tragedy, Coroner Robert Cohen told a court how a dog walker raised the alarm after she saw Michael slumped in the driver's seat at around 6:35 am.
A forensic toxicologist later concluded Michael's carboxyhaemoglobin levels were at 63% which were consistent with death.
Michael was described as "alive, well, and happy" when he was sitting in his car for two hours listening to music with the heating switched on.
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He did not know the heating was pushing the gas inside the vehicle on the evening before he was found dead.
The coroner ruled that Michael's death was a tragic accident as he did not know the car's heating was pushing the gas inside the vehicle on the evening before he was found dead.
Now two years on from the tragedy, Lucy, of Barrow, in Cumbria, is hoping to make it a legal requirement for carbon monoxide detectors to be fitted inside vehicles in the UK.
Lucy said: "My brother was driving his car for weeks unbeknown to him that his body was slowly being poisoned - that fateful evening pushed him over the edge.
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"It was a massive shock for us all when we found out he had died, a huge hole in the family has been left.
"It's so important that people are made aware of this as it's vital to raise awareness because this will help to prevent deaths in the future.
"I never want anyone else to have to endure what we have been through."
Lucy has revealed that on August 17 2023 Michael went out for a drive in his car at around 12am before parking up at his favourite spot on Walney Beach in North Scale, Cumbria.
She then told how her brother sent a text to his then partner at 1am saying "something felt wrong" and that "he didn't feel well".
She then replied at 3am asking if he was okay but revealed that she got "no response" from Michael.
The inquest into Michael's death was heard at Cockermouth Coroners' Court on February 10 2024.
A court heard the vehicle had passed an MOT on April 3 despite having advisory warnings for a minor leak of gases from the front exhaust.
However, a forensic vehicle examiner found that there was no blame to be proportioned as he said the vehicle was considerably different to when it was presented in April having accumulated a further 9553 miles.
The court heard that Michael had also been in a 'turbulent relationship' with his then partner of three years and that he had been working at Windermere Aquatics and for Securitas at BAE Systems in order to save up money to put a deposit on a house.
Coroner Cohen said it was relevant to read into the record a sequence of text messages that Mike had sent to his partner on August 8, which he said implied Mr Barnard wanted to end the relationship and not his own life.
Coroner Cohen described his death as a 'tragic accident' which he recorded as
In the UK it is only a legal requirement for
On April 25 Lucy started her
She said: "Carbon monoxide is a very deadly silent killer because it has no smell.
"You have no idea you are being slowly brought to your death.
"You can buy sensors from local retailers such as Argos, B&Q and screw fix, as well as online at Amazon.
"I'm doing this in memory of him so no one else has to endure the pain that we had to go through."
Paying tribute to Michael, she said: "He was kind and would help anyone if they needed it.
"He loved being out in his car and enjoyed speed boating - he was a very family orientated man.
"I just want to make the best outcome of a bad situation."
The Sun has approached Volkswagen for comment.
Common causes of CO poisoning
Faulty boilers, cookers and heaters
Faulty air conditioning units
Blocked car exhausts
Blocked chimneys
Burning fuel in an enclosed space (e.g. running a car or using a BBQ inside a garage)
Paint fumes
Smoking shisha pipes indoors