The mum of one of the Cameron House fire victims made an emotional visit to the scene of her son’s death on Saturday for the first time since the hotel reopened.
Jane Midgley laid flowers on the banks of Loch Lomond – but yards away, the five-star resort was preparing for its first Christmas after the tragedy on December 18, 2017.
And four years on, the brave mum still doesn’t understand why Simon couldn’t escape the horror fire.
The 32-year-old was killed alongside his partner Richard Dyson, 38, after they were somehow unable to get out.
Every year on the anniversary, Jane, 61, makes a 450-mile round trip from Pudsey, Yorkshire, to lay flowers at the scene.
Speaking ahead of the journey to the hotel, which reopened in September, she said: “I can’t get over the fact I’m never going to see him again.
“He loved all the festivities and by now, the presents would be wrapped under the tree and Christmas music would be playing but instead, I’ll be travelling to Scotland to lay flowers at Cameron House.
“I haven’t let go of Simon and I want him to know his mum is still here fighting for him – that I miss him so much.”
Simon and Richard were killed after porter Christopher O’Malley placed a bag of fireplace ash into a cupboard, sparking the blaze. The families of Simon, a freelance journalist, and Richard, a TV producer, waited three agonising years before they could find out how the fire started.
It began at about 6.30am as 214 guests slept. They fled the inferno but Simon and Richard, who lived in London, were unable to escape.
In January, Cameron House was fined £500,000 after pleading guilty to fire safety failures and O’Malley, 36, of Renton, Dunbartonshire, was sentenced to 300 hours of unpaid work.
The fire will now be the focus of a fatal accident inquiry (FAI) in the new year. Jane said: “I had to fight in the three years before the court cases for answers and it’s been another year of fighting for the FAI and waiting for information.”
A spokesman for the Crown Office said: “The Crown will continue to keep the families of those involved fully informed and answer any questions they may have in the run-up to and during the FAI.”
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