THE parents of a seven-year-old boy who died in winter floods say they face being financially “obliterated” after being refused legal aid for his inquest, where they will produce evidence that raises questions over the official cause of his death.
Zane Gbangbola died in February 2014 after his family home in Chertsey, Surrey, was engulfed by water. He had fallen ill about 10 days earlier and his parents believe he was poisoned by toxic gases seeping out of an adjacent landfill site.
Kye Gbangbola, 50, who was left paralysed after breathing in toxic fumes, and Nicole Lawler, 38, believe the authorities have failed to investigate the potential threat from the landfill site. Police have said Zane died from carbon monoxide poisoning.
“We are not claiming compensation. There is not a bag of money at the end of this for us,” Lawler said. “We just want the death certificate, but we also want the truth about what happened to our son. Everything in our life has been destroyed. Everything has been obliterated.”