Hotel owners charged over breaches of fire safety

It has been reported that Cornwall Council has decided to begin prosecution proceedings against the owners of a hotel in Newquay following a fire which left three people dead.

The Penhallow Hotel was badly damaged in a fire back in the summer of 2007 and the incident resulted in the deaths of Staffordshire guests Peter Hughes, Monica Hughes and Joan Harper.

Following a comprehensive investigation into the blaze by the council and fire service, the hotel owners have been charged with a breach of fire safety regulations.

It took over 100 firefighters to tackle the blaze at the 54-bedroom hotel back in August 2007, where around 90 people were evacuated.

The suspicious fire, which was never proved to have been started deliberately, was thought to have begun in a hotel bar drink store where it then spread through the hotel premises.

The hotel had to be demolished due to the extent of the fire damage sustained by the structure.

Once the probe into the fire had been concluded, charges were brought against the owners and three of their employees for alleged breaches of the Regulatory Reform Order (Fire Safety) 2005.

They are all due to appear at Bodmin Magistrates’ Court on the 21st of October.