Military brought in to speed up Didcot recovery

The Ministry of Defence will provide equipment and personnel to prepare the remaining part of the building for demolition.

Clifton grandfather Ken Cresswell (57), and workmate John Shaw, who is also from Rotherham, have been missing since the power station collapsed on February 23.

The body of Christopher Huxtable (34), from Swansea, Wales, has also still not been found.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: “The Home Office and Ministry of Defence (MOD) have approved the deployment of military aid to support the ongoing multi-agency recovery operation following the partial collapse of the boiler house at Didcot A power station on 23 February 2016. 

“This support has been provided following a request by the Multi-agency Strategic Coordination Group in line with Military Aid to Civil Authority principles.

“The MOD will be providing equipment and personnel working with Thames Valley Police (TVP) to support RWE the site owners, Brown and Mason their principal contractors and Alford Technologies their demolition specialists to prepare for the remaining structure to be brought down safely. This will expedite the recovery work.

“Our absolute priority remains the recovery of the missing men so they can be returned to their families and to understand what caused this tragic incident. 

“Specialist officers from TVP continue to support the families and are providing them with daily updates on the progress on this work.”

The statement comes after Mr Cresswell’s wife Gail called for the government to step in to help her to bury her husband in the Advertiser last month.