Exclusive: 1974 bomb fragments may still be at scene

West Midlands Police has promised a counter terrorism investigation into new claims that vital forensic evidence may still exist from the 1974 Birmingham pub bombings.

ITV News Central has seen a dossier which alleges that fragments of one of the bombs have remained untouched inside one of the buildings damaged by an explosion.

The extraordinary claim was made by a retired firefighter who was one of the first to arrive at the scene. Before he died, he began writing a book which alleged that parts of one of the bombs are in a building next to the former Tavern In The Town pub.

Paddy Hill - one of the six men convicted but later cleared of the bombings - was joined by Brian Hambleton - whose sister died in the tragedy - to hand the file in to police at a meeting with a high ranking officer.

West Midlands Police say they will look into the dossier.

The book also says that some of the investigators were visibly drunk by the time they arrived at the scene and that paramedics were hampered by gridlocked streets and poor communication.

West Midlands Ambulance service say they cannot comment on specific claims from 1974, but say major improvements have been made since then about dealing with such incidents.

Nevertheless, the claims are likely to spark outrage.

Only a year ago, there were angry scenes when West Midlands Police admitted that another bomb that failed to explode - and had been kept as evidence - was later lost. It meant the explosive could not be examined with new forensic techniques.

Tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of the wrongful convictions of the Birmingham Six.

Paddy Hill and Brian Hambleton are both calling for a Hillsborough-style inquiry to uncover once and for all what really happened on the night of the Birmingham pub bombings.