According to sources, Heather's life support was turned off 12 days after she fell ill. An inquest ruled Heather's death as misadventure. The cause of the E.
coli outbreak was never officially identified. Experts and campaigners suspect Heather contracted E. coli from untreated sewage discharged by South West Water on the beach.
Watching that, it kind of hit me how, if I'd have been in that dock and they'd have spoken to me and questioned me like that, I don't know if I could have coped either.
Heather's sister, Suzanne, was also infected with the same E. coli strain but remained asymptomatic. Heather's father, Mark Preen, died by suicide 17 years after her death.
" She added, "I wanted to find out what happened but what killed Heather, it will always be a mystery. " The Channel 4 drama 'Dirty Business' portrays the Preen family's story and focuses on water companies illegally dumping raw sewage. Julie Maughan initially declined to participate in 'Dirty Business' but later agreed after learning about the project's significance.
I wanted to find out what happened but what killed Heather, it will always be a mystery. It was an environmental infection, and one of the sources was water.
She said, "That's when I learned that they were trying to do something significant. " According to Julie Maughan, there is still no treatment for hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) caused by E. coli 157, 27 years after Heather's death.
That's when I learned that they were trying to do something significant. I felt listened to and that was the biggest thing.