Fire officers not guilty in Atherstone-on-Stour warehouse blaze deaths trial

Incident commanders Timothy Woodward, 51, of Leamington and 45-year-old Adrian Ashley of Nuneaton were found not guilty by a jury at Stafford Crown Court today (Wednesday).

Both men had denied manslaughter by gross negligence.

Fire officer Paul Simmons, 50, from Hampton Magna, was acquitted last week on the direction of Judge Mr Justice MacDuff.

The charges were in connection with the deaths of firefighters John Averis, Ashley Stephens, Darren Yates-Badley and Ian Reid as a result of a blaze at a vegetable packing plant in Atherstone-on-Stour in November 2007.

The jury took about seven hours to acquit Mr Woodward, a station manager, and Mr Ashley, a watch manager, after hearing six weeks of evidence about the deaths of the firemen.

The prosecution had alleged the men were criminally responsible for the “needless” deaths.

Graeme Smith, chief fire officer for Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service, has condemned the decision to press criminal charges against the officers.

He said the three men had been “treated like common criminals”.

Mr Smith has called for the Home Office and Ministry of Justice to investigate how and why the prosecution was allowed to proceed.

He said: “It’s crystal clear these cases should never have been brought to court in the first place.

“But today neither I nor any of my colleagues in the Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service feel any sense of relief.

“Rather we feel a sense of sorrow and remembrance for the four brave firefighters who died at Atherstone-on-Stour in 2007.”

Det Supt Ken Lawrence, who had been leading the investigation for Warwickshire Police, said he was disappointed by the verdict.

In a lengthy response, Mr Lawrence said it was clear “things did not go as they should” on the night of the blaze and that there were “serious lessons” to be learned by the fire service.

He also paid tribute to the families of the four firefighters and thanked them for the support they had provided the force throughout the investigation.

Det Supt Lawrence said: “This has been one of the most complicated investigations ever undertaken by Warwickshire Police.

“There have been many challenges to overcome, difficult decisions to make and unpopular actions to take throughout the four- and-a-half years.

“Whatever the result of the trial, the investigation has been successful and has had a number of positive outcomes for the families of the four men who died and fire fighters in Warwickshire and across the country.

“I promised that we would do everything we could to determine how the four men – Ashley Stephens, Darren Yates-Badley, Ian Reid and John Averis – died, and to find some answers for their families and loved ones.

“I believe that we have done that.”

The extensive investigation cost Warwickshire Police almost £4.6 million, of which £3.45 million was covered by a Home Office Special Grant.

Det Supt Lawrence said this was necessary to ensure a thorough investigation into an incident of this magnitude.

In the days following the deaths of the firefighters, colleagues, friends and people across Warwickshire rallied round to raise funds to support the families of the deceased.