The heartbroken parents of a set of twins that tragically died after falling asleep inside their airtight toybox have shared a warning for other parents.
Aurora and Kellan Starr, four, died after climbing into the toy chest in their bedroom and falling asleep after the lid shut on them.
The twins had been known to move around in the night and were often found asleep in a different location to their own beds, their parents - Sadie Myers and Don Starr - revealed.
Following the tragedy, Myers took to social media to warn other parents of the dangers of wooden toy chests so the same thing wouldn't happen to their children.
She took to Facebook to share a lengthy post with her followers, revealing the tragedy that had befallen their family.
Myers wrote at the time: "Last Friday night while I was at work, Don put the boys and the twins to bed, then soon after went to bed himself… When I got home from work a couple hours later I looked in at all the kids like usual to make sure they were sleeping, then ate my dinner and went to sleep…
"At some point early that morning the twins woke each other up and decided they wanted to play in their room rather than sleep, they do this a lot, it’s just a twin thing I guess, and then they usually fall asleep in some weird place in their room with toys left everywhere so mom and dad can see proof of their late night playing when we get up in the morning…"
She added: "Friday night the weird place they decided to snuggle up and go back to sleep was in their cedar toy chest that we use to store all their stuffed animals.
"They pulled out all but a couple stuffed animals, I guess they left some to keep it comfy in there, then they laid inside head to toe with one arm each over their twin and I’m assuming said 'good night kell kell' and 'night night sissy'…
"Sometime during their sleep one of them must have moved or kicked during a dream and it caused the lid of this old wooden cedar chest to close…
"Something I did not know and I’m sure many others don’t know is that most wooden toy chests once closed are AIR TIGHT and also sound proof. So as they slept, all snuggled up together, they slowly ran out of oxygen within a couple of hours and passed away.
"They never even knew it was happening. There was no sudden gasp for air, it was a very slow transition from sleep to passing on…."
Myers revealed that when she, Don, and their two older sons woke up, they went to check on the twins and could not find them in their room.
After panicking about their whereabouts, one of the boys opened the toy box to find the twins 'sleeping' inside it, and the parents immediately realized something was very wrong and that it was "too late" to save Aurora and Kellan.
She shared advice for other parents to help prevent further tragedies, adding: "I hope knowing this helps in some way, and I hope if you have a toy box like this that you destroy it immediately!!!
"Again, please keep me and my family in your hearts and prayers, because this will never get easier for us.. I love you all."
Katrina Phillips, chief executive of the Child Accident Prevention Trust, echoed the advice, adding: "This is a terrible tragedy and our hearts go out to the family. Do take a moment to check how easy it is to open your child's toy box.
"Many push open easily but there could be a problem with a heavy wooden lid. And teach your children not to climb onto or into furniture."
A GoFundMe was set up to help the family, which has now reached $39,865, surpassing its initial target of $10,000 within days.
In an update shared on the fundraiser, Myers wrote: "I want to thank EVERYONE for your kind words and for all the support and donations given.. You all have no idea what it means to me and my family to know there are so many people out there that care so deeply, especially for people you don’t even know..
"Reading all your kind messages definitely helps dull the pain, if even for just a moment, I greatly appreciate the help.. Thank you all so very much."
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