CARE HOME AND TRUST CHARGED OVER LAKE DROWNING DEATHS

Devon and Cornwall Police have confirmed that Burdon Grange Care Home and the South West Lakes Trust have been charged with corporate manslaughter following the deaths of two wheelchair users who drowned when a boat capsized on Roadford Lake, near Okehampton in Devon. Alex Wood, 43, and Alison Tilsley, 63, both died after the wheelchair-accessible vessel began taking on water and six people entered the water during a day trip organised from Burdon Grange Care Home in Beaworthy. A woman in her 50s sustained serious injuries in the same incident. The Crown Prosecution Service said it had decided to prosecute both organisations over the deaths following the investigation. Burdon Grange Care Home has also been charged under section two of the Health and Safety at Work Act over an alleged failure to ensure the health, safety and welfare of its employees. The Bude-based South West Lakes Trust faces a separate charge under section three of the same act, relating to an alleged failure to protect people not in its employment from risks to their health or safety.

Police said the charges follow what they described as a lengthy and complex investigation led by Devon and Cornwall Police alongside the Health and Safety Executive and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch. The capsize happened on 8 June 2022, according to the Crown Prosecution Service. Malcolm McHaffie of the CPS special crime division said prosecutors had worked to establish sufficient evidence to bring the case to court and judged it to be in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings. He said the CPS had worked closely with Devon and Cornwall Police throughout their investigation and that prosecutors' thoughts remained with those affected.

Both organisations have been charged by postal requisition, police said. The case is due to be heard at Bristol Magistrates' Court on 11 November. Corporate manslaughter charges against care providers and outdoor activity operators remain uncommon in England and Wales, and the case is expected to examine the safety arrangements in place for the boat trip. Further details are expected to emerge as proceedings continue.