THE parents of a firefighter who committed suicide have expressed their anger at being refused sight of a report into allegations made against him.

Matthew Norman, 45, hanged himself at his home in Swanage in October last year, just days after being informed accusations of physical assault had been made against him by the children of a friend.

The claims were investigated by Dorset County Council social services, and earlier this year the authority launched an independent audit into its handling of the case.

Mr Norman’s parents David and Margaret said they were told they could see a copy of the finished report, but they have since received a letter from the council saying the audit contains personal data and hence cannot be shared.

David Norman said: “We have had enough now of being kicked in the teeth, we only wanted the truth and no one is going to give us that, it’s one big cover up.

“This is what I said was going to happen, they would not let us read the report, so they have told us what they thought we wanted to know.

“Well my son has taken his own life through lies being told about him.”

The pair believe social services decided the allegations against Mr Norman were false shortly before his death, but failed to inform him that there would be no charges.

An inquest in January heard the father-of-three was not told the nature of the claims. Dorset Police did not investigate.

Also, they argue social workers, who told Mr Norman he could not take his own children on holiday, should have used more “common sense” when assessing the claims.

An inquest in January heard he had sent text messages to his former wife Sue shortly after he was informed, saying: “I feel so upset and helpless. I don’t know what to do with myself. I would not hurt any child.”

In a statement, Dorset County Council said: “The county council has written directly to Mr and Mrs Norman and is not prepared to comment publicly on the circumstances of Matthew Norman’s death.”

A spokesman said: “We will not be making any further comment.”

According to the letter from head of service Vanessa Glenn, the audit found that “there was good management oversight and supervision offering clear case management” and “overall, this case was treated no differently to any other child’s case in the same circumstances”.

Mr Norman has met with MP Richard Drax in an attempt to take the matter further.

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