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| Prestatyn fire: Death blaze 'started deliberately' | Prestatyn fire: Death blaze 'started deliberately' |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| A fire which killed five members of a family was started deliberately by someone holding a flame against a child's pushchair, a court has heard. | A fire which killed five members of a family was started deliberately by someone holding a flame against a child's pushchair, a court has heard. |
| Lee-Anna Shiers, 20, her partner Liam Timbrell, 23, their 15-month-old son Charlie, and two of his cousins died in the blaze in Prestatyn, Denbighshire. | Lee-Anna Shiers, 20, her partner Liam Timbrell, 23, their 15-month-old son Charlie, and two of his cousins died in the blaze in Prestatyn, Denbighshire. |
| A fire expert told Mold Crown Court there was no evidence of an electrical fault or abnormal power supply. | A fire expert told Mold Crown Court there was no evidence of an electrical fault or abnormal power supply. |
| Melanie Smith, 42, who lived in the flat below Ms Shiers, denies murder. | Melanie Smith, 42, who lived in the flat below Ms Shiers, denies murder. |
| Ms Smith also denies a charge of making a threat to burn down the home of an alleged love rival, Samantha Schofield, on an earlier occasion. | Ms Smith also denies a charge of making a threat to burn down the home of an alleged love rival, Samantha Schofield, on an earlier occasion. |
| The court was told the victims would not have been able to escape the first-floor flat without breaking the windows because they had no bottom openings. | The court was told the victims would not have been able to escape the first-floor flat without breaking the windows because they had no bottom openings. |
| This would have been very difficult, said forensic fire investigation consultant Stephen Andrews. | This would have been very difficult, said forensic fire investigation consultant Stephen Andrews. |
| He said following extensive examination, he believed the fire was started by a naked flame being held against the pushchair, or its contents, in the communal hall on the ground floor. | He said following extensive examination, he believed the fire was started by a naked flame being held against the pushchair, or its contents, in the communal hall on the ground floor. |
| The blaze, on 19 October last year, spread and trapped the occupants above. | |
| Fire tests involving the same kind of child's pushchair, blankets and baby wipes were carried out at a fire station, a video recording of which was played to the jury. | Fire tests involving the same kind of child's pushchair, blankets and baby wipes were carried out at a fire station, a video recording of which was played to the jury. |
| Mr Andrews ruled out the possibility the fire could have started by flammable material being poured through the letter box or by a carelessly discarded cigarette. | Mr Andrews ruled out the possibility the fire could have started by flammable material being poured through the letter box or by a carelessly discarded cigarette. |
| And he added: "My opinion is that this fire was started intentionally." | And he added: "My opinion is that this fire was started intentionally." |
| Mr Andrews also told the court that Mr Timbrell appeared to have attempted to break windows at the flat using a vacuum cleaner but was unsuccessful. | Mr Andrews also told the court that Mr Timbrell appeared to have attempted to break windows at the flat using a vacuum cleaner but was unsuccessful. |
| "You would be unable to escape from this flat without breaking a double glazed unit," he told the jury. | "You would be unable to escape from this flat without breaking a double glazed unit," he told the jury. |
| But this was "very difficult", he said. | But this was "very difficult", he said. |
| The court heard there was no evidence of anyone smoking indoors but smoking materials, including rolling tobacco, were found in Ms Shiers's handbag. | The court heard there was no evidence of anyone smoking indoors but smoking materials, including rolling tobacco, were found in Ms Shiers's handbag. |
| A television on a cabinet had melted which gave an indication of the kind of temperatures in the room, said Mr Andrews. | A television on a cabinet had melted which gave an indication of the kind of temperatures in the room, said Mr Andrews. |
| The plastic casings would melt at 170C to 200C, and the television was a metre off the ground. | The plastic casings would melt at 170C to 200C, and the television was a metre off the ground. |
| "It is a pretty horrible scene," he said. | "It is a pretty horrible scene," he said. |
| Firefighters managed to rescue Ms Shiers' son Charlie and his father, Mr Timbrell, from the flat but they died in hospital. | |
| The court has heard previously how neighbours desperately attempted to rescue the trapped family but were driven back by the blaze. | |
| It has also been claimed that Ms Smith started the fire in a row over a pushchair being left in the shared hallway. |