Blaze hotel owners face prosecution

The owners of the Penhallow Hotel in Newquay, where three people died in a blaze, face prosecution
12 April 2012

The owners of a hotel where three people died in a blaze are to be prosecuted for breaching fire regulations, it has been announced.

Cornwall Council said the owners of the Penhallow Hotel in Newquay and three other people face prosecution for alleged breaches of the Regulatory Reform Order (Fire Safety) 2005.

Holidaymakers Joan Harper, 80, Peter Hughes, 43, and his mother, Monica Hughes, 86, all died in the fire that ripped through the seafront hotel more than three years ago.

The blaze, in August 2007, was Britain's worst hotel fire for nearly 40 years.

Last year, an inquest jury returned an open verdict and ruled that no one was to blame despite evidence that the blaze was started deliberately.

A spokeswoman for Cornwall Council said: "Following a comprehensive investigation into the fire precautions at the Penhallow Hotel, Cornwall Council and Cornwall Fire and Rescue Service have confirmed they are taking out a prosecution against the owners of the hotel and three other individuals for breaches of fire precautions under the Regulatory Reform Order (Fire Safety) 2005.

"Summonses have now been issued on both the owners of the hotel and three individuals employed by the company.

"As legal proceedings are now under way, the council and the fire and rescue service are unable to make any further comments at this time."

They will appear before magistrates next month.

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