Remembering the victims of the Summerland blaze

The Summerland complex was left a shell

On the 25th anniversary of the blaze which killed them, around 50 holidaymakers are being remembered at a special service.

The fire, sparked by three boys illicitly smoking, killed between 50 and 53 people and destroyed the Summerland holiday complex at Douglas on the Isle of Man within minutes.

One eyewitness at the time told of a "tremendous tornado of flame."

When the fire broke out, the seven-storey building was crammed with hundreds of people, many of them children.

It was never confirmed exactly how many people died.

Summerland was built using new materials

At its opening in 1971 the 3.5 acre resort claimed to be the biggest indoor entertainment centre in the world.

It was built to lure tourists away from newly-popular foreign holidays.

It had been hailed as the new dawn of a new style of British architecture.

But after the fire, questions were raised about the safety of the new materials used in its construction, particularly the plastic coating covering the walls and roof.

After a 49-day public inquiry, however, a verdict of death by misadventure was returned.

The head of the inquiry said: "There are to be no villains - only human error."

Now relatives and survivors of the blaze are gathering at St George's Church in Douglas for a service on Sunday, and a memorial to the victims of the fire is to be unveiled at gardens at the foot of Summerland.