The father of 19-year-old Holly Bowles, who died of suspected methanol poisoning in Laos last month, has said he was in “disbelief” when he realised his daughter would not pull through.

Speaking to the BBC, Shaun Bowles described Holly as “everything you’d want your daughter to be”.

The Australian teenager had been travelling across South East Asia with her best friend Bianca Jones when they fell ill after drinking alcohol thought to be contaminated with methanol, a toxic substance sometimes added to bootleg drinks.

They were among six foreign tourists to die over a few days in the small, riverside tourist town of Vang Vieng.