Philpott fire: live updates from the Derby manslaughter trial

The trial of three people accused of killing six children in a Derby house fire enters its 15th day today.

Parents Mick Philpott, his wife Mairead, and family friend Paul Mosley, have pleaded not guilty to six counts of manslaughter.

Duwayne Philpott, 13, his sister, Jade, 10, and their brothers, John, nine, Jack, eight, Jesse, six and Jayden, five, all died from the effects of smoke inhalation after flames tore through their home in Victory Road, Allenton, on May 11 last year.

On Friday the 999 call made by Mick and Mairead Philpott during the fire was released.

To listen to the tape or read the full emergency call transcript click here.

You can also follow live updates from Nottingham Crown Court here throughout the day.

Day 15 of the trial

4.05pm Final evidence for the day comes from forensic expert Michael Jones, whose statement is read out to the court.

He said: “The smoke alarm was sounding. When the door fell apart about one minute into the fire, an intruder alarm also sounded.”

The case has now been adjourned for the day and will resume at 10.15am on Tuesday.

4pm Forensic scientist Daniel Matthews, who examined the clothing and footwear recovered from the three defendants, took to the stand.

He said that Paul Mosley’s DNA was not on the petrol can, which was recovered from next to Osmaston Park.

3.30pm Prosecutor Richard Latham read out a postmortem report from Home Office pathologist Stuart Hamilton into two of the children.

In relation to John Philpott, the cause of death was “inhalation of the products of combustion”. Mr Hamilton’s statement said: “It seems most likely that this child was overcome by the fumes and rendered unconscious without necessarily having woken up from sleep.”

In relation to Duwayne, the cause of death was given as hypoxia aschemic brain injury – a combination of the inhalation of the products of combustion and the consequences of a cardiac arrest.

Mairead Philpott was wiping her eyes during this evidence.

No more postmortem results were given.

2.45pm Witness David Ciudisks, scientific support officer for Derbyshire police takes the stand

He told the court he attended 18 Victory Road on May 16 – five days after the fire – and seized a petrol strimmer from the bottom of the garden. He decanted the fuel from its tank and put it into a special cleaning container

1pm The case is adjourned for lunch.

12.25pm Forensics expert Andrew Price takes the stand.

He told the court that Mairead's fingerprints were found on the front windowframe. He said analysis suggests she was leaning on the window trying to get in. Mr Price accepts it is not possible to say how old the fingerprint was.

12.05pm Crime scene investigator Alice Stewart takes the stand.

She said a number of items were seized from the house: debris from around the front door, including a door mat and a letter box; a fire extinguisher, a pick axe, and a broken tennis racket. They were taken away for tests.

Ms Stewart confirmed to the court where the items were found. She said the tennis racket was found on the conservatory roof and had a broken head.

10.30am Anthony Orchard, for Philpott, argues that scientific evidence of the fire does not match up with eyewitness accounts.

Station manager Matthew Lee said a break in a pane of glass was not "the size of a football" as a police officer had said.

When asked how a wrench, that was apparently used to break the window, ended up inside the room, Mr Lee said he did not know. He admitted the fire investigation was "difficult".

Mr Lee said "ignitable liquid" was detected by a fire investigation dog within 50cm of the Philpotts' letterbox.

Mr Lee told the court that it was not possible to say whether petrol was poured through the letterbox as fire destroyed the door. But petrol was detected on the floor close to the door.

Mick Philpott is wearing a black suit, a pink tie and a white shirt. Mairead is in a black cardigan and Mosley is wearing a black jumper.

*THE PHILPOTT TRIAL: Visit our Philpott trial channel here for all related stories in the fire death case.