Boss emerged from Stafford factory blaze ‘on fire’
The 'shell-shocked' owner of a fireworks factory – that erupted into a deadly blaze – emerged from the inferno on fire, jurors have heard.
Richard Pearson was spotted walking from the burning warehouse moments after it exploded with three people inside.
Salesman Ian Roberts was working at nearby Lectri-Call when he saw a ‘blackened’ Pearson scrambling from the Baswich unit in Stafford.
He told Stafford Crown Court: “I saw a gentleman coming towards me. I found out it was Richard and I asked if there was anybody else in that building, and he said ‘yeah there’s two people’, so I shouted out.
“His skin was smouldering. He was badly burnt. It was something I’ll never get rid of in my mind.” Mr Roberts said he tried to console the factory owner and douse him with water before paramedics arrived.
Pearson’s bare chest and back were red and looked severely sunburnt, he told jurors on Tuesday.
Philip Shelley was polishing a car within a unit at the Tilcon Avenue site when he was left startled by an ‘almighty bang’.
The valeter said spotted a man believed to be Pearson as he attempted to flee the scene in 2014.
Taking the stand, he said Pearson’s hands were burnt and added: “When a wall moved [after the bang], I thought ‘get out’.
“There was a gentleman coming towards me, all his clothes were on fire. All his hair was burning. I got containers of water and poured it on him.”
Pearson, aged 43, of Holyrood Close, Stafford, the owner of SP Fireworks, was also critically injured in the fire. He denies two counts of manslaughter.
The trial continues.
