Decade wait for answers to power station collapse

The skies over Didcot were clear and the air chilly on 23 February 2016 when at around 16:00 GMT the lives' of four families were changed forever.

Didcot Power Station's coal-fired A plant had been set for demolition when part of its boiler house came down on that winter afternoon.

Ken Cresswell, 57, John Shaw, 61, both from Rotherham, Michael Collings, 53, from Teesside, and Christopher Huxtable, 34, from Swansea, died in the collapse. It took more than six months for all four of the men's bodies to be recovered.

Exactly 10 years on from the tragedy, a joint investigation by Thames Valley Police (TVP) and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has yet to be completed.

The families of the deceased have now waited a decade for answers.

They previously said delays to the investigation had been "shocking" and described the wait as "really hard".

But they have vowed to keep fighting until "justice is done".

Last year, Thames Valley Police's deputy chief constable said the force was now "confident" that its "dedicated and complex investigation" would reach its conclusion in 2026.

Ben Snuggs said the investigation team had collated and analysed more than 6,500 exhibits, 90,000 images and 230,000 digital media artefacts.

In a statement marking the ten year anniversary, Snuggs said: "We are as committed today as we were on 23 February 2016 to diligently and rigorously investigating this tragedy."

"We remain confident our investigation for this complex case will be finalised this year, as we said last month, to ensure the families get the answers they deserve," he added.

But Mark Anthony, editor of Demolition News, previously called the families' wait for answers "a national disgrace".

Mr Anthony started a petition calling for a public inquiry into the time the investigation had taken.

"Unfortunately, it is not without precedent," he said, comparing it to the investigations into the Hillsborough and Grenfell disasters.

Paying tribute to their loved ones ten years on from their deaths, the families of those killed in the incident reiterated their calls for justice.

"Our love for our cherished Dad, Husband, and Grandad remains as strong as ever, inspiring us to continue seeking the answers our family has waited so long to hear," the family of Ken Cresswell said in a statement.

"We will continue to stand together, driven by love, determination, and the hope that justice will prevail."

Christopher Huxtable's daughter Tia said: "Ten years later, we have never given up on justice, and we never will until the day it is serve."

"But I truly believe the day will come when justice is finally served - for our men, for us families, and for every family affected by that devastating day."

Kirsty Shaw, the daughter of John, added the last ten years had been "a living hell" and "will continue to be until we receive justice and answers as to why our dad... is no longer here, all because he went to work on Tuesday 23rd February 2016."

The BBC contacted the HSE for an update on the investigation, ten years on from the fatal collapse.

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