Generator may have caused deaths in Windermere

Kelly Webster, 36, and her ten-year-old daughter, Lauren Thornton, both from Leyland in Lancashire, died while on a boating holiday in Windermere in the Lake District on Easter Monday.

Cumbria Police said Ms Webster’s partner, Matthew Eteson, 39, also from Leyland, was the third person on board the vessel.

Mr Eteson, the owner of the boat, has been released from Royal Lancaster Infirmary following treatment.

Police said Mr Eteson raised the alarm after experiencing breathing difficulties.

Detective Inspector Mike Brown, who is leading the investigation, said Ms Webster and her daughter were both found in the rear of the boat.

He said he believed the deaths of Ms Webster and her daughter “may be as a result of carbon monoxide inhalation”.

He said: “What we are looking at specifically is an aftermarket [bought separately] generator that has been fitted in the engine compartment of the boat which we believe may be the cause of this. But it’s still early stages in the investigation so we can’t rule anything out.”

Mr Eteson, who lives with Ms Webster in Leyland but is not Lauren’s father, is listed as a director of family firm Etesons Ltd, which specialises in plumbing, and air conditioning installation.

Cumbria Police were called to a jetty near Bowness at around 4pm by the ambulance service after it was reported that three people on a privately-owned boat were having serious breathing difficulties.

Ms Webster and her daughter were treated by paramedics and were airlifted to Royal Lancaster Infirmary, where they died.

Police are not treating the deaths as suspicious and inquiries are continuing to be conducted by officers on behalf of the coroner.

The alarm was raised at around 4pm on Monday when police and an ambulance were called to the boat.

The incident was witnessed by businessman and television personality Duncan Bannatyne, who remarked on the police and ambulance activity to his followers on Twitter.

Other eyewitnesses reported seeing firefighters entering the boat wearing breathing masks.