Two die 'from gas poisoning'

Police said there were no suspicious circumstances

A young couple have died of believed carbon monoxide poisoning in an accident possibly involving a faulty fire.

The bodies of the Louise Loughrin and Mark Hamilton, both in their 20s, were found by relatives at their flat on Christmas Eve.

Families living near the couple said they were horrified by the deaths, particularly coming at this time of year.

Neighbours said the flat in Portland Place, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, on Christmas Eve, was rented out to various tenants and no-one knew the victims.

Christmas tragedy

Gas engineer Jim Lightbody, 47, said: "It is absolutely terrible what has happened.

"You would see different people coming and going over a period of time which made me believe that the place was rented out.

"Someone told me last night that it was two flats but no-one knew who owned it.

"This is a terrible thing to happen at Christmas and I was shocked to hear what had happened."

Strathclyde Police are treating the incident as an accident and said there were no suspicious circumstances.

A police spokesman said there was no mains gas supply into the property, but could not say what the source of the carbon monoxide had been.

The Health and Safety Executive has been made aware of the incident.