ABOUT THE WRITER

Stephen Magnus-Hannaford was born in Kingston upon Thames in 1954. As a teenager, he developed a love affair with the internal combustion engine. Upon leaving school aged fifteen years, he started training as a motor mechanic. Cars, motorcycles and engines were his passion - he even tuned his grandfather's motor mower!

After four years in the motor trade, a change of direction took place and Stephen joined the London Fire Brigade as a fire-fighter. During his career he studied at the Fire Service college and passed his Membership examination of the Institution of Fire Engineers. He rose through the ranks to become a Station Officer at twenty-six. He became a watch officer-in-charge of the North Area Fire Investigation Unit - covering the area from the City of London up to the northern boundary of outer London. His Fire Brigade career was cut short by a broken wrist that refused to heal (caused by a motorcycle accident). So, at the age of thirty-three, Stephen became a pensioner. This was the start of a new career where Stephen's fire and mechanical background would unite. It was as if this was what was always meant to be.

Initially, Stephen joined up with a North American company eager to have a European presence. He spent time in New Jersey and New York training in the 'American Method' of forensic fire investigation, and was amazed how many vehicle fires were investigated for insurers as standard procedure. After two years, he decided it was time to create Hannaford Forensic Services Ltd - a company specialising in the investigation of fires - and vehicle fires in particular.

At first, insurers were reluctant to engage forensic investigation on 'run of the mill' car fires - despite the fact that even a minor fire could write-off a car with a value of £20k as an everyday event. Then came a break through. A major insurer engaged Stephen to investigate a car fire and, as a result of his report, the manufacturer took the vehicle back and paid its value. Insurers were cock-a-hoop, and Stephen earned an enviable reputation. Gradually, insurers realised that this was a cost effective way to counter manufacturers' favourite phrase 'no evidence of a manufacturing defect' after their investigation of a car fire.

Hannaford Forensic is now the UK's premier vehicle fire investigation company, investigating hundreds of vehicle fires every year. Despite the scale and popularity of operations, there are still only three vehicle fire investigators in the company covering the whole of the UK (and abroad). But, both have used and developed 'The Method'.

Stephen is also well known as a tutor in fire investigation and expert witness subjects, both in the UK and Hong Kong. Many aspiring experts have had the benefit of Stephen's insights into producing the Expert report, and the complexities of complying with the Civil Procedure Rules as they apply to Expert Witnesses.

In 1996 Stephen was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Experts, the accrediting organisation for expert witnesses, and is a past chairman of the organisation.