INQUESTS into the deaths of three men killed in a power station explosion will be held next Tuesday.

Teesside coroners have set aside the rest of the week to listen to evidence about the incident at Enron Power Station, at Wilton, near Redcar, on August 8 last year.

The men were carrying out maintenance on a transformer at the time of the explosion.

Andy Sherwood, 36, of Hartlepool, and Darren Higgins, 28, of Normanby, near Middlesbrough, caught the full force of the blast and were identified by dental records.

Lawrence Surtees, 40, of Hawthorn Village, County Durham, died in hospital the next day after suffering nearly 100 per cent burns, while Graeme White, 37, was treated for moderate burns.

An investigation into the cause of the blast was carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in conjunction with the plant's owner, the now collapsed US company Enron, and Cleveland Police.

Although the HSE released its initial findings, it said the full details would not be published until after the inquests.

The initial investigation revealed that a maintenance programme meant part of the power station was shut down and electrical power was redistributed.

The men had been working to alter the voltage across a transformer at the same time as the shutdown, resulting in the explosion and fire.

The company has declined to comment until after the inquests.