HUDDERSFIELD boy Dominic Rodgers died of carbon monoxide poisoning five years ago. Now, an official registered charity has been set up in his name by his mum Stacey and trustees. Stacey tells the Examiner about her campaign so far and her hopes for the next five years....

STACEY Rodgers suffered every parent’s worst nightmare when her 10-year-old son Dominic died as carbon monoxide fumes seeped into his bedroom from a neighbour’s faulty boiler.

attached to the neighbouring house at Spaines Road in Fartown.

Dominic’s case has become well-known in Huddersfield.

But carbon monoxide hit the national headlines with the deaths of Horbury youngsters Christianne and Robert Shepherd in Corfu.

Christianne, seven, and Robert, six, died of carbon monoxide poisoning in their room at the Corcyra Beach Hotel in October 2006.

Ten Greeks and two Thomas Cook employees were due to face manslaughter and negligence charges in Corfu yesterday – but the trial was adjourned until February 2010, prompting anger from Christianne and Robert’s family.

Nobody knows how they would react to the tragedy of losing a child.

But Stacey felt she had no other option but to campaign for carbon monoxide safety.

She threw herself into it and has now reached a huge milestone – launching the Dominic Rodgers Trust as an official registered charity.

The Trust is to be based on Cross Church Street, above the offices of Huddersfield MP Barry Sheerman, who along with his team, has been instrumental in setting up the charity.

Stacey, now living in Sheepridge, will be funded by the Corgi Trust to work from the office two days a week.

Stacey said: "It changed me overnight losing Dominic. I had strong ideas and wanted to raise awareness in new ways.

"I always said we would be a charity one day. Money’s never been what it’s about because we have managed to do a lot in five years without any.

"But now we are a charity, we will be able to put in for grants and do a lot more in practical terms to help people."

Stacey started campaigning while working 40 hours a week, but went full-time two years ago after her mum died.

She said the support of friends, family and people like Mr Sheerman has been vital.

"Friends and family have kept me on my feet and the campaign going. It’s a lot to do on your own.

"Sometimes you think, what can I do next and have I got the energy? But you have to look back at what you’ve done and see how to move forward."

What Stacey has done is to raise awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide – not just locally but nationally.

She has worked with gas safety charities and Parliamentary groups to get agencies within the gas industry working together to improve safety and raise awareness.

She has also fronted TV advert campaigns and appeared live on shows such as GMTV.

Stacey is regularly asked to give talks to gas industry workers, such as engineers.

She said: "You get grown men with tears in their eyes. People have stopped me in the street to say what good work we’ve done and saying that because of seeing warnings they have got alarms.

"It helps – I always said if one life is saved because of this, I’d pat myself on the back.

"I do say to people that if I had had a detector, maybe Dominic would have been alive – but equally I wouldn’t have been telling people to get one. I believe everything happens for a reason.

"At the time I blamed myself but looking into the technical aspects helped me realise it was not my fault. What ifs are dirty words."

Campaigning has changed Stacey’s life.

She said: "I sat my exams at 15, pregnant with Dominic and I didn’t think I needed qualifications. But I have learnt so much and so many different skills now.

"I’ve had people saying they look up to me and they don’t know what they’d do in my position.

"I don’t want to shock people but they need to know that this can happen to them."

During the campaign, she has done many things outside her comfort zone.

"It’s been strange. One minute you’re sitting at home in jeans and the next you can be in a suit in Parliament or meeting celebrities. It’s pretty special."

Another highlight for Stacey is the piloting of a project called Mad Science.

Mad Science deliver fun, interactive presentations to schoolchildren on various issues.

They trialled a carbon monoxide presentation at Christ Church Woodhouse School in Deighton – Dominic’s old school – on the fifth anniversary of his death in February.

Stacey said: "It’s just brilliant. Even adults watching it got involved and the kids enjoy it.

"It’s a great example of the ways we want to get awareness across."

Stacey would love to see that project expanded in the next five years.

Other items on the Dominic Rodgers’ Trust agenda including getting mandatory annual carbon monoxide safety checks in all homes – owned or rented.

Stacey said: "We really need everyone to get annual checks. People don’t think about it, because it seems an extra expense.

"But it is no price to pay for the safety of your family. We want everyone to have alarms too at home and abroad but, if everyone had a service on their appliances, there wouldn’t be a problem."

Stacey also stresses that people should look for gas engineers approved by Gas Safe – the new body which has taken over from Corgi.

After five years of hard work, Stacey has no intention of slowing down.

"To keep a campaign going for five years is an achievement. But I have good people on board.

"I look back and see what we have done and it seems as if someone’s been working in the background helping.

"It might be Dominic, who knows? I can still imagine him laughing sometimes at some of the things we’ve done. I think he’d be proud and I will definitely be doing this still in five years’ time."