Two men who died after being stuck in a burning hotel had tried to smash open a window to escape the inferno, an inquiry has heard. A blaze at the five-star Cameron House Hotel claimed the lives of Simon Midgley, 32, and his partner, Richard Dyson, 38, from London in December 2017.
A fatal accident inquiry into the blaze at the hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond, near Balloch, is being held at Paisley Sheriff Court. Gary Love, a fire investigator, told the inquiry how he found evidence the couple had tried to escape from the blaze.
“I noted that a large picture frame was on its side directly below the window of the second floor landing,” the 57-year-old said, describing the area of the hotel where the men’s bodies were found. He added that the “frame had been prised from the adjacent wall, most likely with the intention to be used to smash the window”.
