Joint fatal accident inquiry into four rally spectator deaths begins

A joint fatal accident inquiry (FAI) into the deaths of four motorsport fans at separate rallies in Scotland has begun.

Joy Robson, 51, died of multiple injuries sustained at the Snowman Rally in Inverness, in the Highlands, in 2013.

Iain Provan, 64, his partner Elizabeth Allan, 63, and Len Stern, 71, lost their lives when a car left the course at the Jim Clark Rally near Coldstream in the Scottish Borders the following year.

It is the first time a single inquiry has been held into deaths which happened in different parts of Scotland. 0 Iain Provan died when a car left the Jim Clark Rally course

The inquiry, which is expected to last several weeks, formally got underway yesterday before Sheriff Kenneth Maciver QC at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

Advocate depute Andrew Brown QC, for the Crown, began the hearing by reading out a joint minute of agreed facts in relation to the Snowman Rally, before a number of procedural matters were addressed.

Eyewitness evidence centred around the Inverness crash is expected to be led first over the coming days, the inquiry heard.

The decision to hold a joint FAI was announced by the Crown Office towards the end of last year.

The probe will look at the full circumstances surrounding the deaths and “help to avoid such incidents happening in the future”.