THE organiser of a fireworks display which led to the deaths of seven motorists, including a father of four from Saltash, did not include drawings of the site in his risk assessment plan, a court heard yesterday.
Geoffrey Counsell was in charge of the massive event at a rugby club which saw around 1,500 rockets fired during a 15 minute display.
But weather conditions caused an "impenetrable smog" from the pyrotechnics to billow onto the adjacent M5 in Somerset, a court heard.
Dozens of cars collided, killing seven and injuring 51 people, including 38-year-old Kye Thomas, who went to Coombe Dean School in Plymstock and later lived in Saltash. It was one of the worst road traffic accidents ever in the UK.
Counsell, the boss of a fireworks company, did not include sketches of the site when he filled in risk assessment forms, a court heard.
He then handed the plans to Colin Bentley, marketing manager at Taunton Rugby Club where the event was held, three weeks before the show.
But Mr Bentley did not read them because he is dyslexic and there were no drawings to assess any potential dangers, a court was told.
Counsell, who runs Firestorm Pyrotechnics, did not keep a copy of the risk assessment forms himself, Bristol Crown Court heard.
Counsell has denied a charge under the Health and Safety at Work Act of failing to ensure the safety of others.
Peter Blair, prosecuting, said Counsell met with Mr Bentley on October 14 to hand over the forms.
Mr Blair said: "They were pre-prepared. Mr Counsell had already brought them in a prepared state.
"Mr Bentley has dyslexia and he accepts he did not read them. He has searched for them and cannot find them now, but it is his recollection that when he was handed that risk assessment it did not have on it a sketch plan."
He added that Mr Counsell did not retain a copy of the risk assessment for himself.
He said: "Would Mr Counsell not retain a copy for himself, not least to remind himself of the significant features of the site and the geography of it, to have it at the front of his mind when three weeks later he came to do the display?"
Counsell had been carrying out a fireworks display at Taunton Rugby Club which runs adjacent to the M5 on November 4, 2011.
He set off around 1,500 fireworks during a 15 minute display which was electronically triggered, the court heard.
Mr Blair said the Les Phippen Memorial Stand – opposite the main clubhouse and where the display took place – was 190 metres from the edge of the M5 motorway.
A combination of a lack of wind and humid conditions then helped create a low smog in the area, the court was told.
Mr Blair said: "He was not handling little rockets and bangers that we might acquire in November for our back gardens for our children. He was handling explosives.
"Essentially what we will hear is particles making up the smoke are able to attract moisture in the air and as they attract moisture the particles grow.
"Any light that is shone towards that spot then scatters. It can not penetrate. It creates an impenetrable smog."
The deadly smash involved 34 vehicles on the northbound stretch of the M5, just after Junction 25 at around 8.25pm.
In October 2012 Mr Counsell, of Ashill, Somerset, was charged with seven counts of manslaughter but those were dropped.
The trial continues.
