Rock guitarist 'trapped' in fire

Mr Gwilym was well-known in the Welsh music industry

A rock guitarist had little chance of escaping a fire at the house he was staying at, an inquest has heard.

Tich Gwilym, 54, whose real name was Robert Gilliam, died after being trapped in the loft conversion of a Cardiff house.

An inquest in the city heard the fire started after a candle, which had been lit by the owner of the house, set some clothes alight and spread quickly.

The coroner recorded a verdict of accidental death.

During the hearing, Cardiff coroner Mary Hassell heard how the musician, who is most remembered for his unique interpretation of the Welsh national anthem on the electric guitar, was staying at the house in the Pontcanna area of Cardiff on 19 June 2005.

The owner of the house, Sheila Trotman-Dickenson, told the inquest how she had lit a perfumed candle in her bedroom before going for a bath.

She went downstairs to get some towels but when she heard some strange noises she went back upstairs where she discovered the door of her bedroom on fire.

She managed to escape the blaze along with her daughter Emma and her daughter's boyfriend Rhys Williams.

Thick smoke

But the couple told the inquest that they heard Mr Gilliam shouting from the attic that he was stuck and could not get out.

Michael Flanagan, the head of fire investigation for the South Wales Fire Service told the coroner that the candle almost certainly set fire to clothes hanging on the back of the bedroom door.

He said the fire spread quickly through the first floor of the house and Mr Gilliam would have been unlikely to escape from the attic because of thick smoke, poisonous fumes and heat caused by the fire.

Mr Gilliam, from Penygraig, Rhondda, died after inhaling smoke and poisonous gasses, the inquest heard

Tich Gwilym joined former Budgie bassist Burke Shelley to form The Superclarks in Cardiff in the late 1980s, and also worked with musicians including Sian James, Geraint Jarman, Heather Jones and Meic Stevens.

Gwilym's son collected a posthumous award for his contribution to the music scene at BBC Radio Cymru's Rock and Pop (RAP) awards in February.