Briar Chemicals explosion: Robert Cranston inquest finding 'a kick in the teeth'
A jury's finding that the death of a man in a chemical factory explosion was an accident feels like "a kick in the teeth", his widow has said.
Robert Cranston, 46, suffered extensive blast injuries and burns and died in hospital shortly after the blast at Briar Chemicals, Norwich, in July 2018. The family hoped for an unlawful killing verdict but the inquest jury decided his death was accidental. Claire Cranston, 44, said: "We just wanted justice for Rob." Mr Cranston was using a grinder during maintenance work, which caused sparks to fly and led to the fatal blast, the jury was told. Unbeknown to him, or his 22-year-old son Owen, working nearby, the tank he was working on contained the residue of highly flammable solvent toluene, a component of TNT. "We knew all along it was an accident, but some people might think the finding means he was at fault and he was not," said Mrs Cranston. Initially Mrs Cranston, a care assistant at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, believed both her husband and son were injured in the blast. During the hearing, Briar Chemicals was criticised for having no proper system of measuring toluene when it was pumped from one part of the factory to another. Probes to monitor for hazardous gases were also proved to be ineffective at detecting toluene. Mrs Cranston paid tribute to her "fantastic, very sociable" husband. "More than 750 people came to his funeral at Norwich Cathedral. His death has been a very big loss to us all," she said. The keen sportsman played cricket, golf and bowls, as well as enjoying fishing. Mrs Cranston said: "The coroner did go through why unlawful killing couldn't be an option because nobody knew that anything was leaking, but I lost my husband through all this. "It feels like a kick in the teeth." Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk