Memorial to mark 30th anniversary of Bradford City fire

Police who investigated the 1985 Bradford City fire knew who dropped the cigarette thought to have started the deadly blaze, a new documentary claims.

Retired Detective Inspector Raymond Falconer said officers worked out that an Australian man called Eric Bennett, who has since died, accidentally started the fire that killed 56 people.

A decision was taken at the time not to release his name, Mr Falconer told the BBC documentary - Missed Warnings: the Bradford City Fire.

Mr Falconer said: "He was obviously troubled. And I felt extremely sorry for him. And this would be weighing on his mind for the rest of his life."

More: Hundreds gather to remember victims of Bradford fire 30 years on

The official inquiry into the tragedy on May 11 1985 concluded that it was an accident and was probably started by a spectator dropping a cigarette into rubbish that had accumulated under an old timber stand.

The documentary will be shown on BBC One in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire tonight at 22.45pm and on BBC Two nationally at 23:20pm tomorrow.

The annual memorial service to mark the Bradford City Fire is always a heartbreaking occasion for the Fletcher family from Nottinghamshire.

Martin Fletcher was just twelve years old when he went to the match with his brother, father, uncle and grandfather. He was the only one to walk out of the ground alive.

This year he published a controversial book which claimed the fire may not have been an accident. Chris Dawkes has been to meet him.

On the fateful day of the Bradford City Fire, Yorkshire Television's John Helm was in the commentary box.

At this morning's service he was sitting alongside the current Bradford manager Phil Parkinson and he also read out the names of those who died.

He went back to Valley Parade for Calendar to speak to former Bantams' captain and manager Peter Jackson.

A special service in Bradford's Centenary Square was held this morning to mark the 30th anniversary of the Bradford City Fire. More than a thousand dignitaries and supporters came to pay their respects to those who lost their lives 30 years ago today. Chris Kiddey was at the ceremony.

In the weeks after the fire and in the wake of the extensive work which was carried out on the injured, a leading surgeon at Bradford Royal Infirmary set up the Plastic Surgery Burns Research Unit. It is a facility which has benefited burns patients around the world ever since, as Sally Simpson reports.

It's 30 years today since 56 people died, when a fire ripped through a football stadium as Lincoln City played Bradford City at their Valley Parade ground.

Today, a memorial service is being held to remember the victims of the 1985 disaster, with Lincoln's mayor and some councillors travelling to Yorkshire to represent the city.

Two Lincoln fans - Bill Stacey and Jim West - lost their lives. Tony Delahunty was commentating on the match 30 years ago - this extract reveals how the horror unfolded.

"Something went deep into the heart of this city - and is still here", the Bishop of Bradford Dr Toby Howard tells the ceremony.

More than a thousand people have gathered for the Bradford City fire disaster memorial service.

The names of all those who died will be read out.