Families remember 11 who died in steelworks blast

A piper leads family members, colleagues and guests to the memorial site

Families and colleagues of workers killed in an explosion at a steel plant 50 years ago came together for a memorial event.

British Steel said it held the event in Scunthorpe - which included a two minutes silence, the blessing of a new memorial, and a service - to "commemorate our workmates".

An explosion at the Queen Victoria blast furnace in the town occurred on 4 November 1975 after a leak caused more than 400 gallons (about 1,800 litres) of water to flow into a torpedo holding molten metal.

Yvonne Spence, 64, whose father James Boreland was killed in the disaster, described the service as "very moving" and welcomed the memorial to remember the victims.

The memorial service took place at the Brigg Road site in Scunthorpe

Ms Spence said she was 14 at the time and her family's lives were "totally changed".

She said: "He kept everyone together and things fell apart after he died."

Describing her father's "little acts of kindness" for others, she said he was "lovely" with a "great sense of humour".

The two minutes silence was observed at 02:47 GMT - the time of the disaster in 1975.

A wreath was laid in what a British Steel spokesperson said was an "extremely poignant" moment.

A private service took place ahead of the blessing of a new memorial at the Brigg Road site.

Yvonne Spence said her family's lives "totally changed" after her father was killed

Sisters Helen Booth, 55, and Karen Holmes, 56, visited the site for the first time since their grandfather James Holmes was killed in the blast.

Ms Booth, who was five years old at the time, said: "It's one of my earliest memories, which is pretty sad - being told that he'd passed away."

She said she was not told until years later that he had been killed in the blast.

Ms Booth described the memorial event as "a lovely tribute", especially the 11 trees planted at the main entrance to the site to represent the 11 lives lost.

Helen Booth (left) says she was not told until years later that her grandfather had been killed in the blast

Ms Holmes said "the steelworks is still a community" with generations of families working together.

Retired steelworker Paul McBean, 67, said the event was "emotional" and "I broke down a little bit".

At the height of its operations, the plant had four blast furnaces, all named after English queens – Mary, Bess, Anne and Victoria.

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