HOUSING and local authority professionals are being urged to attend a national conference aimed at raising awareness of carbon monoxide poisoning, following the a family tragedy.

Joan and Peter Stone, of Cumbria, and their 16-year-old daughter, Emma-Jane, were found dead in their fume-filled bungalow on New Year's Eve.

It is suspected their deaths were due to CO poisoning - dubbed the Silent Killer.

The Northern Echo launched its Silent Killer campaign in September 1999, calling for action to halt the menace, which claims 60 lives a year.

The move has been backed by the action group, CO Support, for highlighting the danger of the gas.

Now the Council of Gas Detection and Environmental Monitoring is urging local housing association, local authority and medical professionals to attend a conference next month aimed at increasing awareness of the problem.

Also invited to the event, at Cardiff University Conference Centre, on February 27, are private landlords and tenants.

Council chairman Jonathan Kane said: "Carbon monoxide is known as the silent killer because it is an invisible, odourless gas, and this tragic case in Cumbria highlights just how easily it can turn a normal home into a death trap.

"Normally, with adequate ventilation and regularly serviced appliances, carbon monoxide should not be a problem.

"However, if appliances are faulty, badly maintained or the flues become restricted for any reason, it then becomes a potential killer.

"Unfortunately, there is a great deal of ignorance surrounding CO poisoning, its causes and symptoms, which is why we are urging anyone involved in the housing and medical professions to attend this conference."

The conference will detail how CO injures and kills, how many people are affected by it, what the law requires and what solutions are available.

Spaces, on a first-come first-served basis, are £80 per delegate plus VAT. For more information call (01462) 434322.