Atherstone-on-Stour fire court case: victims’ families speak out

At a press conference held by Warwickshire Police at the force’s leek Wotton headquarters today, the families of Iain Reid, Darren Yates-Badley and Ashley Stephens, questioned the outcome of the trial at Stafford Crown Court in which incident commanders Timothy Woodward and Adrian Ashley were found not guilty of the charges against them.

Fire service officer Paul Simmons was acquitted five weeks into the trial.

Julie Reid, Iain Reid’s widow, said: “All I ever wanted to know was what happened that night and have questions answered but I don’t feel that has happened.

“I do acknowledge that the defendants and their families have had a difficult year with this hanging over their heads but it is nothing compared to the heartache that Sophie and I have suffered for four and a half years.

“I lost my husband, who I loved very much and Sophie lost the dad she adored. Our heartache and loss is permanent.

“The jury could not find guilt in this case but if this case makes incident commanders take one extra minute to assess the situation presented when arriving at an incident, then that can only be for the good.”

Mr Reid died in hospital after tackling the blaze while his three colleagues were killed in the building, which collapsed during the fire.

Mr Stephens’ then fiance Emma Crocker, who was pregnant with his baby at the time of his death, said her relationship with firefighters was now “non-existent”.

She added: “Ashley was the love of my life and he was taken from me.

“Having his son George asking where his daddy is and when he is coming home has been impossible.

“The fire service was once my family but that has all finished now.”

Warwickshire County Council leader Alan Farnell (Con, Nuneaton Weddington) has condemned the police for holding the press conference.

He said: “I can understand how, in her grief, the wife of a fire fighter who has lost his life in a fire that was started deliberately might make these kinds of comments but it is unforgivable that the police should stage a public press conference designed to do nothing but cast doubt on the verdict of a British jury.

“A senior police officer has been quoted as saying he is ‘disappointed’ that three Warwickshire fire fighters have been acquitted of the flimsy charges brought against them.

“This is simply outrageous.

“I will today be writing to the chief constable demanding an apology to the three fire officers and a clarification that the police acknowledge their complete innocence in the light of the jury’s unanimous not guilty verdict at court yesterday.

“If no such apology is forthcoming I will be referring the matter to the Police Authority.”

Det Supt Ken Lawrence, who led the investigation for Warwickshire Police, has said he is disappointed with the verdict and said the force believes the deaths of the firemen were “unnecessary”.

But Graeme Smith, Warwickshire’s chief fire officer, said it was “crystal clear” the cases should never have been brought to the court and said his colleagues had been treated like “common criminals”.

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service and the Chief Fire Officers Association are writing to the Home Secretary and to the Justice Secretary to seek a formal investigation into why the senior firefighters were prosecuted.

No prosecution has been brought against anyone for committing the supected arson which caused the blaze.