Why did boy start death fire?

By Gill Miller

Schoolteacher Sheila Hill, 54, died from the smoke that engulfed her top floor flat in Sackville Road in August, 2004.

The revelation that her grandson had admitted he lit the fire halted an inquest into her death in November last year.

But at the resumed inquiry on Wednesday coroner Alan Craze said it left him two options - an open verdict or the increasingly popular option of a narrative verdict.

He said they knew the boy started it, he had admitted it, but whether it was accidental "I can't say one way or the other."

His narrative verdict was that how the fire started remained unclear despite a full investigation.

The first hearing had been halted after Mrs Hill's daughter Angela said her son had admitted to her he started the fire but she had not passed the information on to the police.

The coroner decided it would be in the boy's best interest if he was encouraged to speak to trained professionals and to "get it off his chest".

But although he had been assured by his family and the police that he would not be in trouble he had been reluctant to indicate why or how he started the blaze.

Expert forensic witnesses gave evidence the seat of the fire was at the rear of the ground floor but no accelerant was found.

The boy had mentioned a carpet and tissue paper but no remains were found to suggest this.

The coroner said the boy was too young for criminal charges but no crime could be proved on the evidence.

"He doesn't help himself if this was a complete accident. The facts are locked up in the young man's mind."

His mother said she thought her son was more concerned about getting into trouble which was why he had answered some questions by changing the subject or offering to "tell you for a fiver" or "that's for me to know and you to find out."

The coroner said he was grateful to everyone for their assistance and to Angela Hill he said he hoped things went well for her son in the future.

Mrs Hill's family declined to make any comment after the verdict.