Safety concerns raised at Perth hotel before fatal fire

Serious safety concerns about the New County hotel in Perth were raised only weeks before a fire killed three people and a dog.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service called for 21 improvements to be made at the hotel in early December.

Its audit found issues with emergency lighting, fire doors and escape routes at the property, according to The Courier.

Three health and safety improvement notices were also issued to the hotel by Perth and Kinross Council. These raised concerns over several broken windows and said guests did not "feel safe" at the property at night as the front door was left unlocked.

Visitors to the hotel also left a series of one-star reviews on TripAdvisor in the months leading up to the fire on 2 January.

Guests complained of freezing bedrooms and mouldy showers, with one writing the property should be "closed down".

One visitor in August wrote in their review: "The only electrical socket on the wall was held in place with a carpet bar. Stained carpets, cracked linoleum. Dirt everywhere, stained toilet, hair in the bath. Basically filth everywhere."

They added: "If this was a halfway house for prisoners, I'm positive they would request going back to stay at Her Majesty's pleasure."

A guest from December said the hotel was so cold they had to sleep in outdoor clothes and dubbed it "igloo central".

One couple who visited last month wrote that they had left their room just three hours after checking in as there was an "overall smell [of] damp and despair".

"The shower was moulding, the flooring was mouldy, sinking from the years and years of neglect…I had to stand on a towel to change as the flooring was just awful," the guest wrote.

Emergency services were called to reports of a fire at the hotel shortly before 5.10am on 2 January and over 60 firefighters worked to tackle the incident.

Sisters Donna Janse Van Rensburg, 44, and Sharon McLean, 47, both from Aberdeen, were killed in the fire alongside Keith Russell, 38, who was originally from Edinburgh.

Van Rensburg's dog, a three-year-old King Charles spaniel named Joey, also died.

An investigation into the fire is still ongoing.

Chief superintendent Phil Davison of Police Scotland said: "Our thoughts continue to be with the family and friends of those who died as well as the many people affected by this incident.

"A joint investigation with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service is ongoing and a report will be sent to the procurator fiscal."