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A blast in the East Sussex factory of Festival Fireworks UK Limited in December 2006 had killed two people and badly injured around 20 more people. The deceased were fire fighter Geoff Wicker and support officer Brian Wembridge, who were shooting the incident with their camera while the other officers were getting people out of the factory.

The criminal prosecution related to the incident finally was finally settled when Martin Winter, the owner of the factory, was held guilty for manslaughter of the two individuals due to his gross negligence.

The court stated that an unlicensed metal container was being used to store fireworks that were supposed to be exported. Martin Winter was aware that there was a possibility of accident due to the use of unlicensed containers. However, he did not do anything to prevent it. As a result, once a fire started in the factory, it was not possible to stop fireworks from exploding.

The trial was held in front of Lewes Crown Court, which held the company and its owner guilty of violation of health and safety laws. The defendants have argued that the company was not responsible for the death of the victims as the firemen must have been aware of the consequences of getting close to such a fire.

The company run by Martin Winter and his family has been renamed as Alpha Fireworks Ltd. After this verdict, the jury will decide on the two charges of manslaughter against Martin Winter’s son Nathan who runs the company in association with his father.

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