2007 Warwickshire warehouse fire

On the evening of 2 November 2007, a vegetable packing plant the size of four football pitches caught fire in a suspected arson attack.

Due to the debris and the instability of the building the bodies of John Averis, Ashley Stephens and Darren Yates-Badley were not recovered until 6 November.

[3] A hearing took place on 20 January 2012 at Wolverhampton Crown Court at which Warwickshire County Council entered a guilty plea to failing to ensure the health and safety of its employees.

[4] On 18 April 2012, the three fire officers, Timothy Woodward, Adrian Ashley and Paul Simmons, appeared in court charged with manslaughter by gross negligence.

The trial started at Stafford Crown Court on 20 April 2012;[5] on 21 May the judge directed that Simmons be acquitted[6] and on 30 May the jury returned a verdict of not guilty against Woodward and Ashley.