Police knew who dropped cigarette that 'started 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."
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.