The tragic death of a teenager from carbon monoxide poisoning in a holiday cottage in the Angus glens is to be probed by a sheriff.
Thomas Hill, 18, was found unconscious at Glenmark Cottage, near Tarfside, in Angus, where faulty gas heaters were found.
The university student had been on holiday at the remote cottage with his partner Charlotte Beard and her family in October 2018.
Burghill Farms and Piers Le Cheminant – who ran the cottage on behalf of the company run by the Earl and Countess of Dalhousie with their son Simon Ramsay, Lord Ramsay – admitted exposing holidaymakers to the risk of death at Dundee Sheriff Court last year.
They both admitted that between March 2008 and October 2015 they failed to ensure gas cabinet heaters were maintained in a safe condition to prevent the risk of injury to holiday residents.
Burghill Farms was fined £120,000 and Le Cheminant, 76, was fined £2,000.
A fatal accident inquiry into the death will now take place at Forfar Sheriff Court.
The Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain has ordered the probe after ruling the circumstances of the teenager’s death gave rise to “serious public concern” and an inquiry is in the “public interest”.
During the criminal prosecution, it emerged heaters were being used in rooms which were too small and not ventilated enough.
An investigation found there had been cracks in a heater and it was found to be producing carbon monoxide in excess of safe levels.
The cottage was owned by the Earl of Dalhousie and his heir Lord Ramsay.
Retired private school teacher Le Cheminant had sub-let the property for the tragic break.
Speaking after the court case, the teenager’s father Jerry said: “Tom was a really special young man and it seems to us what killed him was a series of failures really.
“I don’t think anyone comes out of this process with great credit.
“It just seems that everyone tries to divert the blame.”
Tom’s girlfriend Charlotte added: “I lost my love, my baby, and the future I had planned with Tom.”
Fining Burghill Farms and Le Cheminant, Sheriff Gillian Wade said: “The heater in the bathroom should never have been there at all.
“For a period of seven and a half years, people using the cottage were exposed to the risk.”
In a statement issued after the case, Burghill Farms partner Simon Ramsay said: “We previously offered our heartfelt condolences to Thomas Hill’s family and friends and do so again.
“Following discussion with the family, a small grove of trees was planted near the cottage and in response to a family request, donations have been made to appropriate charities.”
A preliminary hearing will take place in March with the full inquiry expected to get under way later in the year.
