Bristol graduate was teaching English to Chinese but died after four days

The family of a newly qualified teacher who died from carbon monoxide poisoning days after moving into a new flat on a dream gap year trip to China have urged travellers to carry gas detectors.

Francesca Dingley, 22, originally from Enfield in north London, died in Chengdu, the south-western capital of China's Sichuan province, last February.

The Bristol graduate was in Asia to teach English for a year with plans to get a teacher's job in the UK but was apparently killed by a faulty boiler.

As an inquest into her death started today her father Mark Dingley said the tragedy had been 'wholly avoidable', as he urged all travellers to carry a carbon monoxide detectors with them at all times.

Tragedy: Francesca Dingley, pictured centre with her father Mark and mother Chrissy, died in China from carbon monoxide poisoning

Hearing: An inquest will today hear how the Bristol graduate, left and right, was in Asia to teach English for a year but was apparently killed by a faulty gas appliance.

He said: 'Her life was tragically cut short by carbon monoxide poisoning, as the result of an incorrectly installed gas appliance. A simple carbon monoxide detector, costing less than £10, could have prevented this.

'As parents, we urge you to insist that your child does not travel abroad without one of these detectors.

'We think of our darling girl every day, but if this tragic occurrence raises awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning and prevents another tragedy of this kind, then her death will not have been in vain.'

Her mother, Chrissy, and I took her to Heathrow and we said our goodbyes not knowing that we would never see her again Francesca's father Mark Dingley

Francesca's mother Chrissy added: 'Everybody should have one.

'If Francesca had been doing some gap year travelling and staying in dodgy hotels, we would've been more worried about her.

'The fact that she was working for a Western organisation lulled us into a false sense of security.

'Really, everyone should take personal responsibility.'

Francesca, a Bristol University graduate, travelled to Chengdu, south-west China, in January 2015 as part of a TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) programme. She shared a flat with another teacher, Emily Flaherty, 27.

But the flue for their boiler had not been correctly installed, causing the flat to fill with toxic fumes.

After the pair failed to turn up for work on February 10, the alarm was raised. Miss Flaherty was taken to intensive care and has since recovered, but Miss Dingley could not be resuscitated.

Chrissy, a former nursery administrator, said: ‘If Francesca had been going on a gap year and travelling rather than working for a Western company, we would have been more concerned about her safety. It lulled us into a false sense of security.’

Dreams: Francesca (centre) pictured with her sister Gabrielle and brother James died in February last year and wanted to be a teacher

Warning: Francesca's death has led to the Foreign Office advising other travellers to carry carbon monoxide testers costing around £10, which would have saved her life

Education First (EF) has since adjusted its policies to include safety tests in China. Miss Dingley’s family has agreed a settlement with the school and is suing the landlord in an attempt to raise safety standards.

An EF spokesman said the company’s founder would meet with the family, adding: ‘We deeply regret this tragic situation.’

CARBON MONOXIDE: THE SILENT AND ODOURLESS KILLER GAS Carbon Monoxide is produced when fossil fuels burn without a good supply of air. It is a colourless, odourless and tasteless gas which is difficult to detect. And If that happens in a room without adequate ventilation, levels can build up dangerously. A mild case of CO poisoning can just cause a very bad headache. But inhaling high levels can quickly starve major organs like the heart, brain and nervous system of oxygen, and if someone is exposed to high levels of CO for too long, they can fall unconscious and die within minutes. Advertisement

But Mark, an accountant, said EF had not sent the family a letter of condolence. There have been no criminal investigations as safety laws are different in China – something the family described as ‘frustrating’.

However, Francesca's death has led to the Foreign Office advising other travellers to carry carbon monoxide testers costing around £10.

Already, the advice of the Foreign Office, and the Dingley's advice to friends, may have saved lives.

'A friend of mine, her son went to Croatia last year on a stag night,' Chrissy said.

'She knew what had happened to Francesca and got her son to take one with him - and it went off in the night.

'He was in the flat with 10 of his mates.

'Things like that give us a little bit of comfort, because it makes you think that her death was not in vain.'

Last year David Cameron was urged to back new EU controls on gas boilers by the coroner who investigated how two British children died from carbon monoxide poisoning while on holiday in Corfu.

David Hinchliff raised fears of 'future deaths' unless radical steps were taken. His call comes just 12 months after the Government rejected the idea of new Europe-wide safety rules on holiday accommodation.