A SPECIAL investigation is being launched into a fire outside a Lindford care home last year which claimed the life of a disabled resident.
Criminal charges regarding the fire have already been ruled out but there is a possibility of a case being brought under health and safety legislation.
Last July Juliette Findlay, a resident of the Deja Vu care home in Liphook Road, died after the car she was sitting in caught fire.
An inquest previously heard that Juliette, 33, and another resident were left alone inside the car. Deja Vu is a care home for the mentally and physically handicapped.
The court heard that one of the workers of the home had allowed the pair to sit it unsupervised for up to an hour on a number of other occasions as a treat - including the day of the fire. The keys were left in the ignition to allow Juliette to listen to the radio.
However on the day of the fire, just moments after the pair had been put into the car, it caught alight. Although the second resident managed to escape staff were unable to get Juliette out, she later died.
The second resident was unable to tell police how the fire started leaving the cause of it a mystery.
However the inquest heard that a box of matches had been left on the driver's side dashboard. An electric fault also could not be ruled out as the cause of the blaze.
Although the police have ruled out a criminal prosecution, East Hampshire District Council's health and safety team is carrying out its own investigation to see if the care home breached legislation.
A report to the recent full council meeting explained that the investigation was ongoing.
"Officers are reviewing the circumstances of the case in liaison with the police and the proprietor of the home to determine whether there is sufficient evidence for a case to be brought to the courts under health and safety legislation," it said.
"Members will be kept informed as to the progress on this very sensitive case."