London--Police investigating the fire which killed 56 fans at a Bradford City match knew who dropped the cigarette thought to have started the tragic blaze, according to a new documentary.
The official inquiry into the tragedy on May 11, 1985 concluded that the fire was an accident and was probably started by a spectator dropping a cigarette into rubbish that had accumulated under the old timber stand.
But a retired detective has told the BBC how officers believe it was a man visiting from Australia called Eric Bennett who accidentally started the fire, with a decision taken at the time not to release his name.
The blaze ripped through the wooden structure in just a few minutes as Bradford played Lincoln, leaving many fans unable to get out.
Fifty-four Bradford supporters lost their lives in the fire, along with two Lincoln fans, while more than 200 people were taken to hospital.
Raymond Falconer, the retired detective, told the BBC documentary that Bennett, who travelled to the English Football League fixture from Australia with his nephew, admitted he had dropped a cigarette in the area where the blaze started.
AFP
