THE Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has announced it will not prosecute power firm Enron over an explosion that killed three men.

The families of the men who died at the power station at Wilton in August 2001, were told the news on Wednesday.

An HSE spokesman said: "Very careful consideration has been given to all the evidence surrounding this tragic incident.

"Taking into account the Health and Safety Commission's enforcement policy, the code for Crown Prosecutors and independent legal advice, the HSE has decided not to bring a prosecution following the investigation."

A four-day inquest held on Teesside in February recorded a verdict of accidental death.

But the HSE said its decision does not prevent any civil claim against the US company, which owned the plant at the time of the accident.

The three died after they were engulfed in a fireball while work was being carried out to adjust the voltage of a transformer.

Operations technicians Andy Sherwood, 36, of Hartlepool, and Darren Higgins, 28, of Normanby, suffered 100 per cent burns and died immediately after the accident.

Paul Surtees, 40, of Hawthorne, east Durham, suffered 90 per cent burns and died the following day. Graeme White, 39, of Billingham, suffered ten per cent burns and is still receiving surgery.