Coroner halts inquest into deaths of two men in Morecambe club fire as new evidence emerges

The jury inquest started on June 12 at County Hall in Preston and was set to last 10 days but Area Coroner Chris Long was forced to abandon the inquest and discharge the jury, after hearing evidence from a witness who was a customer of the club.

Mr Long has since referred the deaths back to Lancashire Constabulary.

John McCartney, 60, and 70-year-old Tony Townsend died when a fire broke out at Gordon Working Men’s Club in Morecambe on the afternoon of October 9 in 2019.

In January this year the pub’s manager Heather Goffin was jailed for a range of fire safety breaches at the club, while her son Callum Goffin, who was the company’s sole director, was handed a suspended sentence.

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: “Fresh evidence was presented to the inquest, the Coroner has referred the matter back to the Constabulary and as a result police will examine that evidence further.

“Our thoughts remain with the families of the two men who sadly died as a result of the fire.”

At most inquests there is no jury and the Coroner decides the conclusion on their own.

This will happen if a relative died in custody of an unnatural cause, or if their death was linked to their own or someone else's actions while at work, or to certain health and safety issues.