Hinckley Road explosion: Dedication service to honour people killed

The Ragoobeer family and Leah Reek were in the flat when the shop blast happened

A dedication service is to be held later to commemorate the deaths of five people, killed when a shop exploded.

Mary Ragoobeer, her two sons, Shane and Sean, Shane's girlfriend Leah Reek and shop worker Viktorija Ijevleva all died in the blast in Hinckley Road, Leicester, in February 2018.

The event has been organised by Councillor Ted Cassidy in consultation with the families.

The service will be led by the Bishop of Leicester.

A plaque was placed on land opposite the shop and flat in a permanent memorial to the victims after a campaign led by Mr Cassidy. He said the site had become a focal point for tributes and vigils.

The memorial was unveiled in November and will be dedicated at the service led by the bishop, the Right Reverend Martyn Snow later.

Mr Cassidy said: "This is a small dedication service for families and friends of the victims of the Hinckley Road explosion.

"It has been organised in consultation with the families and will also be attended by representatives of the emergency services who were there on the night.

"City council representatives will also be present."

Mary Ragoobeer and her family lived in the flat above the shop at the time of the explosion. Her third son, Scotty, who was 15 at the time, survived after he was pulled out of the rubble by police and members of the public.

Three men were jailed for murder in 2018 after they were found guilty of blowing up the shop in a £300,000 insurance scam.