Haut Du Mont: Jury fails to reach verdict on third gas worker

Thursday, 22 October 2026 at 13:00

A jury has failed to reach a verdict on a third gas worker accused of unlawfully killing ten people following the explosion at Haut du Mont nearly four years ago.

After a near six-week trial, and 28 hours of deliberation, a hung jury was discharged this afternoon at Jersey's Royal Court.

They had failed to reach a majority decision on the charges against Lee Ward, who wiped away tears in court as he was bailed, with the prosecution given two weeks to request a retrial.

If they do not pursue a retrial, Mr Ward will be discharged.

Presiding Judge, Commissioner Andrew Oldland instructed the Crown to ‘consider very carefully… whether or not there needs to be a retrial’.

When discharging the jury, Commissioner Andrew Oldland told them it had 'been an important and lengthy case' and that that they'd carried out 'clearly, conscientiously, a very important civic duty.'

Yesterday (22 October) the jury unanimously convicted Mr Ward's former colleagues Neil Armstrong and John Wright of ten counts of gross negligence manslaughter, and found their ex-employer, Island Energy, guilty of breaching health and safety laws.

Read: Haut du Mont: Gas workers convicted of manslaughter

A sentencing date will be set at a hearing at the end of the month, with Armstrong and Wright remanded in custody.

The States Employment Board is due to be sentenced in December after pleading guilty to two health and safety charges.

Ten residents of Haut du Mont lost their lives in December 2022, after a gas leak caused the block of flats to explode at around 4am on 10 December 2022.

They were Raymond Brown, Louise de Almeida, Romeu de Almeida, Sylvia Ellis, Derek Ellis, Kenneth Ralph, Jane Ralph, Peter Bowler, William Marsden, and Kathleen McGinness.