A coroner has expressed serious concerns about the safety of modified e-bikes following the second fatal house fire in Blackpool within two years. Teenagers Coby Keogh and Joey Gregory died after an e-bike battery "exploded" at a property on Redcar Road on June 30.
Coby, 13, died at Alder Hey Children's Hospital on July 4, while 19-year-old Joey died five days later at Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester. Both boys suffered a hypoxic brain injury from smoke inhalation. Emergency services were called to the home at approximately 9.37am on June 30, and three other occupants sustained minor injuries.
Inquest Hearings
Inquests into the deaths were opened and adjourned separately at Blackpool Coroner's Court on August 6. Senior Coroner Alan Wilson told the families he will consider holding a joint final inquest. During the brief hearings, he voiced concerns about e-bikes that have been modified to increase their maximum speed.
"When the bikes are originally purchased they are limited to 12/15mph, people however are tampering with the batteries and removing the restrictions," the coroner said. "Apart from that creating a risk of people falling off I am more concerned in this case with tampering of the battery. Hopefully the expert will be able to provide some more information about that."
Fire Investigation
The court heard that the e-bike which caused the fire had only been brought inside the property "the day before". Speaking to Joey's father Harry, the coroner said: "A fire investigator has indicated that the source of the fire in the property was an e-bike. The bike was in the property where the fire took place. There are indications that there was some sort of explosion and a window was blown out and the fire has then taken hold."
The coroner noted that final investigation reports from the fire service and police were not yet completed, but he was concerned that Joey and Coby appear to have died "in arguably similar circumstances" to Josh Pearson and Danielle Bamber, who died in a fire at their home in Peter Street in July 2024. In that case, the coroner concluded that the fire "most likely started due to an electrical fault on the batteries of electric bikes".
Coroner's Warning
Mr Wilson said: "Although final reports are awaited the available evidence suggests that would be the second fatal house fire in this area caused by an e-bike. In 2024 we had two young people in their 20s who died when a battery of an e-bike exploded. We now have two more young people who have died in arguably similar circumstances."
He added: "There seems to be an issue... we get reports that [with] some of these bikes people are removing the obstructions so they can travel at considerably greater speeds. We don't know what happened in this case. They seem to be creating a significant fire risk and I think people should be alerted to the risks of having these bikes inside a property. If you've got one of those bikes in the property then families may be at risk. It may be we get more clarity on these as reports come in from the experts."
Victims Remembered
The court heard that Joey was a mechanical engineering student who normally lived in Poulton-le-Fylde, while Coby was a school pupil born in Blackpool. After Joey's death, his heart and kidneys were donated to three individuals. His mother Sally said in a tribute: "Later today we are going to say our final goodbyes to our wonderful son Joey Gregory. His brain injuries are too catastrophic for him to survive. We were asked our thoughts on organ donation. We said yes. They said that's good because your son opted in when he was aged 17. They have found four recipients to receive Joey's kidneys, liver, pancreas and his big beautiful heart. This pain is eased by the fact that our son may save four other lives."
Final inquests into the deaths of Coby and Joey are not expected to take place until November or December this year.
