Family to sue police and councils over deaths of mother and daughter

[Alison J Stevens]

Family to sue police and councils over deaths of mother and daughter

Fiona Pilkington

By dan martin

Details of a family’s legal battle against the police and two councils over the deaths of a mother and daughter who were tormented by yobs have been revealed.

Relatives of Fiona Pilkington, who killed herself and her severely disabled daughter after suffering years of abuse, are seeking total damages of up to £50,000 from Leicestershire police, Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council and Leicestershire County Council.

In legal papers submitted to the High Court in London, the relatives claim the three organisations breached their duty to protect Fiona and her two children from abuse.

They add that if the alleged breaches had not occurred, there was a “substantial chance” Fiona and her daughter would not have died.

Fiona, 38, killed herself and Francecca Hardwick, 18, by setting fire to the car they were in on October 23, 2007. They were found in the burning vehicle in a lay-by off the A47 outside Earl Shilton, a couple of miles from their Barwell home.

The papers state: “Fiona Pilkington was driven to take this tragic action by the stress and anxiety she was suffering as a result of on-going anti-social behaviour, harassment, victimisation and bullying.”

The legal action has been brought by Fiona’s son, Anthony Hardwick, 21, who was also subjected to abuse by yobs, and her mother, Pam Cassell, 74.

Their claim form states that as a result of the alleged breaches by the three organisations, they have suffered “a very real loss of very close and loved family members and resulting grief and bereavement”.

It says the value of their claim is between £15,000 and £50,000, and that the money is sought because there are no statutory damages arising out of the deaths. It adds that the loss of life caused by the alleged breaches of duty by public authorities should be compensated.

The claim contains details of dozens of incidents reported by the family between 1997 and 2007, ranging from threats to kill members of the family to Mr Hardwick being locked in a shed. The full list of incidents is published in the Leicester Mercury today.

The claim states: “Over the entire period there were numerous occasions on which Fiona and Francecca did not leave their home as Fiona was so anxious about the abuse and anti-social behaviour they would otherwise suffer.”

The three authorities are accused of failing in their duty, under Article 2 of the European Convention of Human Rights, to have suitable systems in place for investigating, controlling and suppressing harassment of members of the public – in particular vulnerable ones – and for managing the effects of such harassment on them.

The claimants believe that had those systems been in place the family would have been identified as three vulnerable individuals, all of whom were being subjected to hate crimes, persistent harassment and bullying, and that appropriate criminal proceedings would have been taken against the offenders.

They also believe that Fiona and her family would have been given suitable support, and that as a result she would “likely” have not have killed herself and her daughter.

Mrs Cassell, of Earl Shilton, said she did not want to comment on the case.

She and Mr Hardwick are being represented by Jocelyn Cockburn, a partner at London law firm Hodge Jones & Allen, who specialises in civil actions against the police and other public authorities.

Ms Cockburn said she was not able to comment, but expected the matter to go to trial next year.

Leicestershire police declined to comment.

However, after an inquest in September 2009 into Fiona and Francecca’s deaths, the force’s then acting chief constable, Chris Eyres, said: “We are extremely sorry that, at times, our actions failed to meet the family’s needs; in retrospect there are things we would have done differently.”

A spokeswoman for the county council said: “We take any claim extremely seriously and are considering our response.”