NORTH Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service has said it could not have saved the two jockeys who died in a fire in Norton.

A former firefighter has criticised the fire service for trialling the Renault Midi van as a firefighting vehicle at its Malton station last September.

The vehicle was introduced on September 1 of last year, but removed shortly after the fatal fire which killed Jamie Kyne and Jan Wilson on September 5.

But the fire service has said the trial vehicle had no bearing on the deaths of the two young jockeys and nothing else could have been done to save their lives.

A spokesman said a standard fire engine went to the blazing flats as well as the trial vehicle and there was also support from other appliances.

The spokesman said: “We would wish to make crystal clear that the appliance was on a trial, it was not at the fire on its own, it was supported by other appliances and the outcome of the incident could not have been avoided."

He said the fact the vehicle had been withdrawn from the trial shortly after the fire was nothing other than an unfortunate coincidence, but that the Renault Midi had not generally been up to the needs of the fire service.

Limitations included the fact that it did not carry ladders.

It was being trialled as a replacement for vehicles currently in use at very rural fire stations such as Danby and Summerbridge.

The spokesman said because of the physical size of the stations and the limitations of rural roads, standard fire engines are not suitable for those very rural locations.

The issue was revisited by the BBC last night as part of its Inside Out programme.