One of my favourite times of the year to take my scouts camping is in the autumn, nice and crisp mornings and cozy and relaxing around the warm campfire in the cold evenings is just magical, On a recent autumn camp, even though I spent the previous few weeks telling the scouts to wrap up warm in the evenings, bring a nice warm jumper, hat, scarf etc and explaining that we loose heat though our head and a hat is a must at night time, some scouts still forgot warm clothes at night time. The next morning i asked the scouts if they slept well and warm during the night, a few muttered that they was quite cold during the night. I suggested that they wrapped up warm at night & wear a hat during the night. 1 scout suggested heating in the tent, so I questioned this scout on what heating he would suggest. After some “heated” debate on the subject, 1 scout came up with the idea of a mini heater, he had recently read about a sad story which involved a family, the children of this particular family sadly lost their life’s were scouts. We got onto the subject of “ the silent killer” Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. I remembered a post I read and it suggested that thousands of campers even though they are aware of the silent killer still bring into their tents lit barbecues, this could be due to the unpredictable weather whilst camping or re using the BBQ after they have cooked their dinner to warm up their tent. Even when the BBQ’s are extinguished and even heaters, they can still emit deadly carbon monoxide. On a recent survey conducted by corgi, 1 in 5 campers confessed to bringing in their BBQ into their tent or porch and carried on cooking, and 23% of those surveyed admitted they used a BBQ, kerosene heater, patio heater, lit BBQ or gas stove inside their tent to keep warm during the cold nights. Sadly 2 thirds of these people – 63% was unaware that CO still continues to be admitted even if a BBQ has been extinguished. There is no other way to say this but “DO NOT BRING THEM INSIDE” It’s that simple! List of recent UK camping tragedies involving carbon monoxide: ● In summer 2013, Bethan O’Brien, 20, died from CO poisoning while camping in Devon after a stove was left burning inside her tent. ● In May 2012, 14-year-old Hannah Thomas-Jones died at a campsite in Bucknell, Shropshire, when a portable barbecue was placed in the porch of her tent. Fumes from the barbecue had blown from the porch area to the sleeping compartments. ● In 2011, Hazel Woodhams died while camping with her boyfriend Roland Wessling. They had brought an extinguished barbeque into their tent – which was still emitting toxic fumes. This was despite Hazel knowing first hand the deadly effects of carbon monoxide through her job as a scenes-of-crime officer. The couple had a carbon monoxide alarm in their home, but they had not thought to bring it with them on their trip. Big man in the woods has teamed up with Corgi Homeplan to give you that chance to win a Carbon Monoxide Monitor, these not only can be used in your house, you can take them on your camping trip as well and place the inside your tent or caravan. Visit the Big Man in the Woods Competition page to enter! Corgi Careplan’s survey of 1000 campers revealed that almost two thirds have a CO alarm in their home, 19% take them on a camping holiday. 74% take a first aid kit with them and 26% Also bring a fire extinguisher. Top tips for CO safety on holiday “By packing a simple CO detector in your luggage and setting it up in your tent, it leaves you free to enjoy a worry-free break.” Mark Leslie, CEO of CORGI HomePlan