A CONTROVERSIAL new book suggests the Bradford City fire disaster might not have been an accident as then club chairman Stafford Heginbotham was linked to a number of other blazes at his businesses.

Martin Fletcher, who survived the fire but lost three generations of his family in the blaze, makes the claim in his book Fifty-six – The Story of the Bradford Fire, which is being serialised by a national newspaper.

But last night Mr Heginbotham's sons condemned Mr Fletcher's suggestions, calling them "preposterous" and "sickening".

In the book, which is being serialised by the Guardian, Mr Fletcher highlights at least eight other fires at business premises either owned by or connected to Mr Heginbotham - who died in 1995 - which the writer says resulted in major insurance payouts.

Although he does not make any direct allegations, Mr Fletcher argues the insurance claims should have been further investigated at the time.

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In the book he says his determination to find out "the truth" stemmed initially from a conversation with his mother, Susan, when he was 21, and that she told him: 'I never believed it was an accident and I never will. I don’t think Stafford intended for people to die. But people did. All because he went back to the one thing he knew best that would get him out of trouble'

In response, Mr Heginbotham's sons, Simon, 49, and James, 47, said they were appalled by the suggestion.

James Heginbotham said: "I know he has not directly implicated him, but he might as well be.

"It is sickening. He (his father) cannot defend himself, and we cannot do anything about it.

"It is so preposterous to suggest anything like that with that man. He put that club above family and business, above everything.

"We are absolutely sickened by these allegations. Any true fan would know what he has done for that club."

Mr Heginbotham said members of his family were in the stand that was destroyed by the fire and he was glad his mother Lorna was not alive to hear the claims.

He added: "The guy (Mr Fletcher) has lost a lot of family members. He is very bitter but to come up with this is just sickening.

"It is tarnishing the names of the 56 - and especially on the 30th anniversary."

Mr Heginbotham said his father twice saved Bradford City from extinction, once in the 1960s and then again in the early 1980s.

He said it was true that fires happened at businesses connected to his father, but added that they were full of combustible items and that health and safety was a lot different.

Bradford's City president Jack Tordoff, who alongside Stafford Heginbotham saved the club from extinction in the early 1980s, also condemned the book's claims.

"It is ridiculous, absolute rubbish," said Mr Tordoff, 79.

"I cannot even imagine him contemplating it. Stafford would not do anything like that.

"It makes me angry. Stafford was a likeable rogue but would not do anything like that. It is absolutely ridiculous."

Gerry Sutcliffe, the former MP for Bradford South who was deputy leader of Bradford Council at the time of the 1985 fire, said: "The inquiry by Mr Justice Popplewell concluded that it was caused by a discarded cigarette in what was an old wooden stand and I have not heard anything to convince me that that was not the case.

"Stafford Heginbotham was one of those football club chairmen of which there were many at the time who flew by the seat of his pants. I was deputy leader of the city council at the time and he did fly by the seat of his pants when it came to paying the bill for the police and so on.

"But I think the inquiry was very thorough at the time and I don't think there needs to be another because of this. I do not believe there was any sort of cover-up and in fact the inquiry led to a lot of recommendations on stadiums that together with the Taylor report came up with the right answers for football.

"There will always be speculation but I just think it was a tragedy that cost the lives of 56 people and injured many more, and has scarred the city for many years."

John Dewhirst, 52, co-founder of Bradford City fanzine City Gent who was also in the crowd on the day of the fire, said: "There were allegations at the time that Stafford Heginbotham had caused fire in the past. It was clearly common knowledge that there had been mill fires.

"But it is stretching the imagination to believe the guy would have had the gall to do something like that."

Mr Fletcher’s brother Andrew, 11, was the youngest victim and his father John, 34, uncle Peter, 32, and grandfather Eddie, 63, all died in the blaze.

He was unavailable to comment to the Telegraph & Argus yesterday.

Detective Superintendent Mark Ridley, of the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team at the West Yorkshire Police, said last night: "The jury at the inquest in 1985 delivered a verdict of misadventure.

"However should any evidence come to light which was not available to Her Majesty's Coroner at the original inquest, then we will consider its significance and take appropriate action."