Did toaster start fire which killed cricket legend Trevor Bailey?

CRICKET legend Trevor Bailey died in a kitchen fire as he made breakfast, an inquest heard yesterday.

The 87-year-old was found lying face down in the doorway to the kitchen in his flat in Alston Court, Crowstone Road, Westcliff, by firefighters after the blaze broke out shortly after 6am on February 10.

Fire investigators concluded the flames were probably sparked by a toaster Mr Bailey was believed to have been using. They said there was no evidence of any faults with the machine, but it was a probable source of the fire.

The toaster had a badly burnt flex, and a loaf of bread was found nearby.

A post-mortem examination found the former all-rounder, who played 61 test matches and represented Essex over three decades, fell unconscious shortly after the blaze started and died of smoke inhalation.

His wife, Greta, was rescued from their nearby bedroom when firefighters searched the flat barely 15 minutes later.

Speaking after the inquest, Mr Bailey’s daughter, Sharon Rowlingson, 53, said: “It is a sense of closure which we needed to have.

“My mother is as well as can be expected, given that they were married for 60 years and devoted to one another.

“I have been really touched by everybody who has sent us their best wishes – it has been very kind.”

Hundreds of family and friends, including dozens of famous faces from the cricketing world, packed St Saviour’s Church, in King’s Road, Westcliff, for a memorial service for Mr Bailey in March.

The dogged cricketer, a three-times Ashes winner, was born in Westcliff in 1923, and brought up in the area.

He played cricket at Alleyn Court School, in Westcliff, before playing a key role in establishing England as the leading force in Test cricket during the Fifties.

He scored 1,000 runs and took 100 wickets in a year several times, and in later life worked as a pundit and broadcaster.

Coroner Peter Dean recorded a verdict of accidental death at Southend courthouse.

He said: “What took place on that day was a very tragic accident that sadly led to the death of Mr Bailey.

“Our thoughts are with his family and all those close to him.”