Headaches, dizziness, fatigue, drowsiness – sounds familiar? As a student you might easily ignore these symptoms, but anyone, including students, does so at their peril - you may be being slowly poisoned by the most common poison in the UK today.

It’s a poison you cannot see, smell or taste. It’s a gas, so is ingested by the simple process of breathing. It is called carbon monoxide and it is produced by improperly installed or maintained gas boilers. In its mildest forms CO fumes leave anyone exposed feeling unwell. In the worst situations, CO can kill without warning in just hours.

On the very first CO awareness day, today 5^th December and for the rest of this week, events up and down the country will remind homeowners and landlords of the dangers of CO and the simple steps that can be taken to protect themselves and others from harm.

Student and student accommodation owners are to be targeted and particularly the locations of Manchester, Liverpool, Preston, Lancaster, Chester, Bolton, Ormskirk, Salford and Carlisle, where there are large populations of students.

People moving into property during the summer may only just be starting to use central heating systems for the first time.  Increased usage could also bring the boiler to danger point. Sian and Colin Goodson’s story is typical: The Bristol couple moved into their house in October 2005, where a boiler had already been installed several years earlier.

"My husband's parents, brother and sister came to stay with us the night before the funeral of his grandmother and on the morning of the funeral we all had showers,” Mrs Goodson explained. “There was no warning - such as a strange smell or taste - we simply all started to feel ill and faint and my eight-month old baby was unusually sleepy. Luckily, Colin and his brother quickly realised that something was wrong and we all got out of the house just in time, although my son Archie had passed out by this point.”

Sian added: “Thankfully, the emergency services arrived almost immediately and we all spent the day in hospital on high flow oxygen because of the CO levels in our blood.”

"We found out later that the very old boiler had suddenly packed up - presumably due to pressure put on it by the large number of people showering - and my main regret is that we hadn't got round to having it serviced since we moved in. So my main piece of advice to anyone hearing our story is 'get your boiler serviced regularly' - it might cost you your life if you don't."

Geoffrey Podger, HSE chief executive, said: "Encouraging public understanding is an important weapon in cutting the number of people killed or made seriously ill each year as a result of CO poisoning.”

"Today's awareness day is key to achieving this and communicating the message that if appliances are not properly installed and adequately maintained by a competent CORGI-registered installer, the gas may not burn properly meaning potentially deadly CO fumes are released."

Students are urged to ensure that their gas appliances have had an annual safety check by a CORGI registered installer and they have a copy of the safety check.

HSE senior inspector Phil Gifford, said: "Landlords are responsible for ensuring that the gas appliances they own are maintained and they must be checked for safety at least once a year. A good supply of fresh air is essential, airbricks or ventilation should not be blocked.”

"Around 20 people are killed every year from carbon monoxide fumes from household gas appliances and several hundred more suffer carbon monoxide poisoning, but luck is with them and they survive.”