Inquest hears of 'great danger' tip-off before fire murders

Social workers received an anonymous tip-off that children were in "great danger" days before they were murdered in an arson attack, an inquest heard.

Demi Pearson, 14, her brother, Brandon, eight, and sisters, Lacie, seven, and Lia, three, died after petrol bombs were thrown into their home on Jackson Street, Walkden, Salford, in the early hours of December 11, 2017.

Their mother Michelle Pearson, 37, died almost two years later after suffering severe burns.

A joint inquest into their deaths, now in its third week, is being heard at Bolton Coroners' Court and on Wednesday it heard of social services involvement with the family.

The hearing was told on 29 November, 2017, less than two weeks before the fatal attack, the social services department at Salford City Council received an anonymous call.

The caller said: "The children are in a really unsafe environment and in great danger."

Georgina Tighe, a social work manager at the local authority, said the call was taken by an administrative person working in the department and the information was never passed on to her as it should have been.

Tighe said the Pearson family case was "multi-faceted", with some, but not all children subject to child protection plans and it was not deemed a "high risk" case.

The Pearson case social worker, Sharon Oldham, was allocated to the family in August 2017, but handed in her notice in October.

Three days before the anonymous tip-off, Zak Bolland, 26, who lived nearby, had used a hammer to smash the front windows and panes of glass in the front door of Pearson's home.

Bolland, who was in a "tit for tat" feud with one of Ms Pearson's sons, Kyle, 16, also threatened to firebomb her home.

Oldham went to visit the family on November 27, a Monday, where Bolland was named as the culprit for the damage and threats, and Ms Pearson was advised she needed to present to her housing provider to request a house move.

Oldham did not discuss the visit with Tighe as this was her last working day and Tighe did not work Mondays, the court was told.

Kyle Pearson had claimed to social workers a notorious Salford crime gang, the A Team, was threatening him and had put a bounty on his head.

But this was not deemed credible by police, who had no intelligence linking him to any gang warfare and had not issued a "threat to life" warning.

Tighe told the hearing that social workers had visited and spoken to the Pearson family. She said police did not regard the A Team threat reported by Kyle as credible, although officers planned to arrest Bolland. Tighe also said a fire safety assessment had been carried out at the family's home and that Pearson had started the process of moving.

Tighe was asked about the threats and criminal damage and risk to the Pearson family.

She said: "It's a very difficult risk to analyse and understand. It's very difficult to evidence what's credible and what isn't. You are trying to piece together what's tangible and what isn't.

"I did not consider there was enough evidence to suggest she (Pearson) must be moved immediately."

On December 7, another social worker visited Jackson Street, which "provided reassurance", Tighe said, as Pearson did not say she felt unsafe living there.

The following day there was a child protection conference concerning the Pearson family, and afterwards its chairwoman, Lisa Hughes, emailed Tighe to say: "I am extremely concerned about the risk to the children."

Tighe said: "Obviously, it's a worry, but all the professionals are worried about these children. I did not feel concerned by it because we all shared the concerns."

Laura Nash, counsel to the inquest, asked the witness: "Did you do anything in response?"

"Not that I can recall," Tighe replied. "I did not have any immediate concerns for the safety."

The next day, Saturday December 9, Bolland visited the house again, setting Pearson's wheelie bin on fire and spraying "Grass" on the front wall of her home.

Two days later, Bolland and an accomplice, David Worrall, 28, carried out the fatal attack.

As the family slept upstairs, they smashed Pearson's windows at the back of the house and tossed in petrol bombs.

One "exploded" near the stairs, blocking the only exit to the ground floor and trapping the family inside.

In 2018, Bolland and Worrall were both given four life sentences and told they would serve a minimum of 40 and 37 years respectively for the petrol bombing.

Bolland's girlfriend, Courtney Brierley, 20, was jailed for 21 years for four counts of manslaughter.

Pearson had called police on at least five occasions in the two weeks before the firebombing and had begged to be rehoused, the murder trial at Manchester Crown Court heard.

The inquest continues.

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