NO prosecutions will be considered over a power plant explosion until inquests into the three workers who died have been concluded, it was revealed yesterday.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has been carrying out investigations into the blast at the Enron-owned Teesside Pow-er Plant, Wilton, near Redcar.

Darren Higgins, 28, of Normanby, near Eston, and Andrew Sherwood, 36, of Hartlepool, were killed instantly in the explosion inside the electricity generating hall last August.

Lawrence Surtees, 40, of Hawthorn Village, County Dur-ham, died the next day in Middlesbrough General Hospital after suffering 100 per cent burns.

An investigation into the cause of the blast was carried out by the HSE in conjunction with the plant's owners, the now collapsed US giant, Enron, and Cleveland Police.

Although the HSE released its initial findings, it has said that the full details will not be published until after the inquests into the men's deaths. No date has yet been fixed for the hearing.

The initial investigation revealed that a maintenance programme meant part of the power station was shut down and electrical power was redistributed.

The men had been working to alter the voltage across a transformer at the same time as the shutdown, resulting in the tragic explosion and fire.

The company has always declined to comment until after the inquests.