NO criminal charges are to be brought following the death of a disabled Lindford woman after a coroner ruled that it was an accidental death.

But other inquiries are still ongoing to discover what went wrong and what lessons can be learned.

A coronerÕs inquest heard last week that Juliette Findlay, a resident of the Deja Vu nursing home in Liphook Road, died after the car she was sitting in caught fire on July 7.

Juliette, 33, and another resident, referred to as ÒAÓ, were left alone inside a red Ford car, in which there was a box of matches.

Coroner Andrew Melrose Bradley told the inquest, in Basingstoke, that Juliette was a small, thin woman who required long-term care.

Her remains were found in the burned-out car. She had been killed through burns and shock.

Nina Udell, who was working at the home when the fire broke out, suffered burns as she tried to battle the flames.

Ms Udell was in the kitchen doing paperwork when Hayley Inskip, a carer at the home, put Juliette and ÒAÓ in her car.

The court heard that Ms Inskip had allowed the pair to use the car for up to an hour on a number of other occasions as a treat and had never experienced any problems. She would leave the keys in the ignition because Juliette enjoyed listening to Classic FM.

ÒAÓ sat in the passengerÕs side of the car while Ms Inskip wheeled Juliette around to the driverÕs side where she manoeuvred herself into the seat.

Ms Inskip then left the duo unsupervised in the car, which was parked in the driveway of the home, while she went to help another resident.

However, just three to five minutes later Ms Udell looked up from her paperwork and saw that the car was on fire.

The court heard that Ms Udell ran outside and told ÒAÓ to get out of the car, which he did, and then tried to tackle the flames with a fire extinguisher. After this failed to put out the fire she ran inside to get a larger extinguisher, but still to no avail.

It was then that two male passers by stopped to help. The men told Ms Udell to go back inside the home, in case the house caught fire, and to get the remaining clients outside.

The court heard that the car was well-maintained, but a large amount of clothing had been left in the boot of the car and a box of matches had been left on the driverÕs side dashboard.

Ms Inskip told the court that she had heard that ÒAÓ had once been a smoker, a rumour unsubstantiated by any documentation, but she did not believe that either Juliette or ÒAÓ would have had the co-ordination to strike a match.

Detective Sergeant Ben Snuggs, of Alton CID, who was responsible for investigating the fire, said that he had tried to interview ÒAÓ in a bid to find out how the fire started, but due to ÒAÕsÓ restricted means of communication this had proved fruitless.

Ian Tickle, assistant provisional officer of the fire service, said that the fire had begun in the passenger compartment and that the temperature would have been equivalent to 2,000 electric wires burning at once.

He added that he could not rule out an electric fault as the cause of the blaze.

Verdict: Accidental death.

Following last weekÕs verdict Hampshire police officers have confirmed that no criminal charges against the home or any of its staff members were to be brought.

However social services, the health and safety executive, the National Care Standards Commission and the homeÕs owners Robinia Care are still completing their own investigations.

Jill Stannard, Hampshire Social Services assistant director for adults, said that the investigationÕs progress would be heard at a meeting next month.

ÒThe investigation under the Adult Protection Policy, initiated by Hampshire Social Services department is progressing with Surrey Social Services department, Robinia and the National Care Standards Commission working together to undertake the detailed work.

ÒThe investigation involves interviewing staff and reviewing policies, procedures and care practices.

ÒProgress on the investigation will be reported to the next meeting of the multi-agency group, convened following JulietteÕs death, on 26 September.

ÒI would like to extend our condolences to JulietteÕs family and friends throughout this tragic time.Ó