A care home and a charitable trust have been charged with corporate manslaughter following a fatal boating incident at Roadford Lake near Okehampton.

Emergency services were called on June 8, 2022 after a Wheelyboat capsized on the lake, sending six people into the water.

The boat was carrying a group on a day trip from Burdon Grange Care Home in Beaworthy.

Wheelchair users Alex Wood, 43, and Alison “Ali” Tilsley, 63, both from West Devon, died following the incident.

A woman in her 50s was seriously injured.

Corporate manslaughter charges

Burdon Grange Care Home and South West Lakes Trust, based in Bude, have each been charged by postal requisition with corporate manslaughter.

Both organisations also face offences under the Health and Safety at Work Act.

Burdon Grange Care Home has been charged under Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work Act in relation to an alleged failure to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of its employees.

South West Lakes Trust has been charged under Section 3 of the Act in relation to an alleged failure to conduct its undertaking in a way that ensured, so far as was reasonably practicable, that people who were not employees were not exposed to risks to their health or safety.

First court hearing in November

The first hearing is due to take place at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, November 11.

The charges follow a lengthy investigation led by Devon and Cornwall Police alongside the Health and Safety Executive and the Marine Accident Investigation Branch.

The allegations have not yet been determined by a court.