£500k fire investigation cost
An investigation into a fire at a Powys farmhouse that killed a father and five of his children has cost a police force over £500,000.
Dyfed-Powys Police have had to spend £560,000 investigating the fire which killed David Cuthbertson, 68, and his young children in Llangammarch Wells in October.
Police and crime commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn has admitted the cost of the complex investigation would increase in the future.
Currently the cause of the fire is being treated as unexplained, with officers previously stating that the intensity of the fire made it difficult to identify bodies.
Retired builder Mr Cuthbertson died alongside his sons Just Raine, 11, Reef Raine, 10, and Patch Raine, six and his nine-year-old daughter Misty Raine, in a blaze that gutted the whole property.
A sixth body was found but has not yet been identified.
Three children, aged 10, 12 and 13, survived the fire but suffered significant trauma and are receiving police support.
In a report into the force's precept and budget for 2018-19, Mr Llywelyn said: "The force has had to deal with a significant and complex fire investigation at a remote property near Llangammarch Wells.
"Costs of £560k have already been committed to date in relation to this operation.
"The operation is ongoing and therefore the final cost that is covered by a reserves transfer is likely to rise further before the end of the 2017-18 financial year."
The operation into finding bodies and investigating the fire has seen an estimated 260 tones of bricks and mortar looked through, 'brick by brick' in an effort to preserve evidence.
Investigation teams and experts were called in from all over the UK, as teams are still trying to establish what caused the devastating fire on October 30.
