Fireworks factory trial put both owners and fire service in spotlight

Why was an unlicensed container packed with fireworks capable of causing carnage kept on land at family-run Festival Fireworks UK Ltd in Shortgate, near Lewes?

And should officers at East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service have been more attuned to the dangers posed by exploding fireworks?

The devastating result of the blast killed retained firefighter Geoff Wicker, 49, and support officer Brian Wembridge, 63, who were both long-serving members of the fire service.

The alarm was raised at 1.45pm on December 3, 2006 after Nathan Winter, whose father owns the company, was preparing for a fireworks display that evening in Eastbourne town centre.

Due to windy conditions, he decided to do the preparations inside but as he did so an igniter flared up, sparking the fire which had such tragic consequences.

Soon fireworks were exploding and spreading to other areas of the site at Marlie Farm. The fire brigade was called and the command passed upwards as more senior fire officers arrived.

As the fire progressed, a decision was made to evacuate the site. But a number of officers were near the firework-packed container, including Mr Wembridge and Mr Wicker.

What followed was described as a "mass explosion" which sounded "like a bomb" and shattered the container, sending large fragments far and wide.

As well as killing the two firemen, 20 others, mostly fire and police officers, were injured. The scene was described by one firefighter as like the Battle of the Somme.

Another firefighter, Michael Sweetman, said that moments before the blast, there was a hissing sound followed by a sucking noise coming from the container.

Immediately afterwards there was a loud bang, then a massive fireball which shot out about 10ft. This was followed by a huge explosion which rocked the site.

Heathfield-based retained firefighter Mr Sweetman said: "I was picked up and blown several feet into the wall beside me. My whole body went down immediately. I remember screaming and swearing. I honestly thought, 'This is it'."

Station manager Steven Wells said: "I ran round to be confronted by a scene that looked like war must look like. It was still smoking. A lot of the house had been blown over and there were khaki-coloured lumps lying down.

"I realised they were firefighters. Nobody was moving."

Jurors were told the container which exploded was not licensed to store fireworks, and that Martin Winter, the owner of the firm, and his son and employee Nathan Winter, were aware of this.

Under the Manufacture and Storage of Explosives Regulations 2005, they would have been permitted to store a maximum of seven kilos of fireworks for no longer than 24 hours.

In interview, Martin Winter said the container was due to have been shipped out to Oman within 24 hours of the explosion.

He said that under normal circumstances it would not have been at Marlie Farm. He later said the container had been on the site for about three years and had contained just chicken feed before it was filled for the Oman delivery.

But prosecutors cast doubt on the Winters' account, saying it was unlikely the container would have been seaworthy, having stood in a rusty state on the farm for years.

They said there were simply no arrangements for the transportation to the Middle East to take place on either December 4, 5 or 6. Prosecutor Richard Matthews said the container made "a nonsense" of the Marlie Farm licence.

Mr Matthews said both Nathan and Martin Winter were familiar with the licence and its obligations about what could be stored and how fireworks should be handled.

Nevertheless, the container was still packed with fireworks, including those which posed a mass explosion risk, he said.

It was not suggested that either man intended any harm towards Mr Wembridge and Mr Wicker, but Mr Matthews said the Winters, who live on Marlie Farm, owed a duty to take reasonable care when storing or handling fireworks, but were grossly negligent.

It was the prosecution case that due to the Winters' knowledge of the hazards involved, the use of the container for illegally storing fireworks and their conduct on that fateful Sunday, there was an "obvious risk of death" arising.

Questions too, however, surrounded the role of the fire brigade.

It was said that Martin and Nathan Winter had impressed upon fire crews the urgent need to keep flames away from the container. One of them said to a fire officer: "If it ever gets to that container, run like f***."

Nathan Winter also told a police officer: "You don't know what's in there, everyone has to go, we've got to tell them what's in there."

He claimed fire officers failed to take proper heed of his warnings, with one dismissing him as not being "in a position to tell him how to do his job".

Martin Winter, who declined to give evidence at trial, said in interview he tried to tell the firemen what could happen and how the fire could be fought, but added: "They wouldn't allow us in there - health and safety - so it just took hold."

He said he drew a map on a whiteboard for one of the firemen and told the fire officer about the container: "Whatever you do, you must not let the flames get near that, that is dangerous."

He was asked: "Did you tell what was in it?" Winter replied: "No, no, but it was obvious it was fireworks because we're a working firework company."

Mr Matthews said that while Martin Winter appeared to encourage fire officers to stop the blaze spreading to the container, neither he nor his son was prepared to explain what exactly posed such a risk.

Tempers frayed during the operation to tackle the blaze, with Martin Winter accusing a fire officer of smelling of alcohol. A negative breath test reading was given by the officer.

In another exchange, Martin Winter told a fire officer: "What the f*** are you standing here talking to me for? My business is burning down, why aren't you putting it out?"

Video footage of the moment the blast occurred was captured by Mr Wembridge, whose role included taking images at fire scenes for release to the media.

At one point, the court was told, station commander Jeremy Upton told Mr Wembridge to withdraw after seeing him with his camera. He told him: "Brian, get yourself out of here now."

Indeed, the defence tried to persuade the judge part-way through the trial that there was no case to answer to the charges relating to Mr Wembridge.

They submitted that, as a cameraman for the fire service, he did not fall into the category of a firefighter, and also pointed to the evidence that he had ignored orders to withdraw.

But judge Mr Justice Cooke allowed the manslaughter charges to stand, saying it was "pre-eminently a jury question" over whether the Winters were grossly negligent.

Festival Fireworks UK Ltd, now called Alpha Fireworks Ltd, imported fireworks from China, manufactured under its own brand, Sovereign.

It also imported from other Chinese manufacturers and from Spain and Italy. These were sold as a trade range to professional display operators.

The firm put on large numbers of professional shows, and Martin Winter and his wife Julie were also directors of another company that operated a shop selling consumer fireworks.