Extensive flooding of the River Thames and its tributaries across south-east England in February 2014 was caused by extraordinary weather conditions. Very heavy rain had fallen on ground already saturated by multiple storms since the previous December. Hundreds of residents were evacuated and the flooding damaged thousands of homes and businesses.
One family, whose home was near an old landfill in Chertsey, Surrey, suffered a particularly devastating loss. Their seven-year-old son, Zane Gbangbola, died on the night of the floods. A coroner ruled that the cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning from the petrol pump used to clear floodwater from their home.
But the family have long contested that when the River Thames burst its banks and flooded a nearby old landfill, toxic hydrogen cyanide gas was released, causing their son’s death.
