A MAJOR trial into neglect claims at a former Grimsby care home has collapsed – after an investigation spanning nearly seven years.

Charges against six people over allegations that patients were neglected or ill-treated at a unit for the elderly have been thrown out of court – with legal costs of hundreds of thousands of pounds due to be paid for from public funds.

As reported, the six denied charges relating to Littlecoates House, in Littlecoates Road, and were facing a trial originally expected to last three to four months.

The case had already been put back until March next year because of a mass of extra paperwork.

But the whole case has now collapsed after defence teams involved in the trial made detailed submissions that the charges against the six – and the company which ran the home – should be thrown out.

Judge Graham Robinson pulled the plug on the prosecution at a hearing before Sheffield Crown Court yesterday.

In an earlier hearing, he invited the defence lawyers to make submissions after it became apparent that any trial would face huge problems.

At the time, he said: "This is a case in which everything that could possibly have gone wrong has gone wrong," and added that "enormous lessons" should be learned.

The judge's written ruling revealed how the investigation began in 2002 after an anonymous phone call to social services – but that no resident of the home or relative made any direct complaints.

Initially, 661 allegations were compiled against 20 employees. Five were cautioned, no further action was taken against nine and the remaining six – as well as the firm which ran the home at the time – were eventually charged with alleged offences.

Yesterday, after several adjournments, Judge Robinson threw out the case, expressing his disbelief at how long it had been allowed to continue – and said had there been convictions, the staff would have been discharged and the firm given a "modest" fine.

The Crown Prosecution Service admitted it was a "logistical nightmare".

Judge Robinson said: "There is no wider public interest in proceeding."

The defendants were: Stephen Corry, 53, of Tetney Lane, Holton-le-Clay; Lisa McCann, 34, of Wisteria Drive, Healing; Judy Hunter, 54, of Phyllis Avenue, Grimsby; Justin Higgins, 51, of Woodhall Drive, Waltham; Robert Chambers, 64, of Lytham St Anne's, Lancashire, and Maureen Clephane, 62, of Pelham Avenue, Grimsby.

Mr Corry, Mrs McCann, Mrs Hunter, Mr Higgins and Mr Chambers faced charges involving alleged neglect.

Mrs Clephane, Mr Corry, Mrs McCann and Mr Chambers faced charges of allegedly breaching their duty.

Grimsby-based CKB Building Services – which operated the home at the time but now has no involvement – was accused of breaching its duty to non-staff between May 1996 and June 2003. The company has been represented in court by retired director John Clephane.

Judge Robinson said no one on the prosecution side seemed to have been in overall control of its progress – although he stressed that prosecutor Jonathan Devlin and the investigating police officers had worked very hard and were not to blame.

A legal source involved in the case said they believed the total cost to the prosecution and police could be up to £1.75-million.

The figure was openly mentioned before and after yesterday's hearing at Sheffield Crown Court, but prosecutor Jonathan Devlin told the Grimsby Telegraph he believed the figure for the prosecution and police would be less than £1-million.

He said fees for the prosecution barristers, including himself, were "less than £100,000". But he added that other prosecution and police costs would be on top of this.

A member of one of the defence teams admitted: "It's been one hell of a waste of money."

Details of the amounts of money clocked up by the defence teams were revealed in Judge Robinson's written judgement, which was made available to the Grimsby Telegraph.

Actual costs totalled at least £620,000, with estimated costs of at least £695,000.

Judge Robinson chose not to adjourn the trial any further. Mr Devlin refused to offer no prosecution evidence and, because of this, Judge Robinson refused to order not guilty verdicts to be entered.

This means that, although the charges have been "stayed" in legal terms, the defendants have not been formally acquitted. Therefore, the matters involved in the case are technically still hanging over the defendants' heads – but they will not face legal proceedings.

Judge Robinson made orders for defence costs to be paid out of public funds. Mr Devlin confirmed he would not be appealing against Judge Robinson's overall decision.