Council to be sentenced over deaths of four firefighters
Warwickshire County Council is to be sentenced for health and safety breaches linked to a warehouse fire which claimed the lives of four firefighters.
The local authority pleaded guilty in January this year to a charge brought under the Health and Safety at Work Act following an inquiry into the fire in Atherstone-on-Stour in 2007.
The Judge sitting at Stafford Crown Court has issued his opening remarks, saying; "The relatives have taken a close interest in this case I have read the impact statement. I understand the anguish at the loss of men who had their lives ahead of them.
"Men who went fearlessly into the fire in what was considered to be a routine fire at the time I have the most enormous sympathy. I know family members will understand my task.
"It is unusual for a judge to sentence a corporate body. There is no defendant to look in the eye."
More details from ITV Central.
More top news
Secret files reveal drunken Stalin and Churchill meeting
Secret files reveal drunken meeting between Stalin and Churchill, a cross-dressing spy and King Edward VIII's phone bug.
Two arrested after man killed in London 'terror' attack
Two men were arrested after a man was killed in broad daylight on the streets of London in a suspected terror-related attack.
'Cycle Tweet' girl breaks her silence
A driver who boasted on Twitter about colliding with a cyclist has apologised for what she calls a "stupid tweet".