Care home and charitable trust charged following deaths of wheelchair-bound residents
The Crown Prosecution Service has announced corporate manslaughter charges for Burdon Grange Care Home and South West Lakes Trust following the deaths of two residents after a boat capsized in Roadford Lake Reservoir, west Devon.
Malcolm McHaffie, Head of the Special Crime Division at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “The Crown Prosecution Service has decided to prosecute Burdon Grange Care Home Limited and South West Lakes Trust with two counts of corporate manslaughter each.
“They have both also been charged with failure to discharge a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act
“This follows the capsize of a boat on 8 June 2022 on Roadford Lake Reservoir with six people on board and the deaths of 63-year-old Alison Tilsley and 43-year-old Alex Wood.
“Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring this case to court and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.
“We have worked carefully with Devon and Cornwall Police as they carried out their investigation.
“Our thoughts remain with the families of Alison Tilsley and Alex Wood at this time.”
The first hearing will take place at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 11 November 2026.
We remind all concerned that proceedings against these organisations are active and that they have the right to a fair trial.
It is vital that there should be no reporting, commentary or sharing of information online which could in any way prejudice these proceedings.
Notes to editors
- Burdon Grange Care Home is operated by Burdon Grange Care Home Limited. The boat was hired at the Roadford Lake Activity Centre, operated by South West Lakes Trust.
- South West Lakes Trust has been charged with two counts of corporate manslaughter contrary to section 1(1) of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. It is also charged with one count of failure to discharge a duty, contrary to section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
- Burdon Grange Care Home Limited has been charged with two counts of corporate manslaughter contrary to section 1(1) of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. It is also charged with one count of failure to discharge a duty, contrary to section 33(1)(a) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
- The function of the CPS is not to decide whether a person is guilty of a criminal offence, but to make fair, independent and objective assessments about whether it is appropriate to present charges for a criminal court to consider.
- The CPS assessment of any case is not in any sense a finding of, or implication of, any guilt or criminal conduct. It is not a finding of fact, which can only be made by a court, but rather an assessment of what it might be possible to prove to a court, in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.