FIREFIGHTERS who failed to rescue a woman from a disused mineshaft cannot be prosecuted due to legal technicalities.

The Crown Office said there would be no action against the firefighters involved in the death of 44-year-old Alison Hume seven years ago because the mineshaft is technically not a 'structure'.

They said the firefighters had no duty to rescue her because under the relevant legislation they only have to do so from "the collapse of a building, tunnel or other structure".

A letter to Mrs Hume's family states: "Crown Counsel has concluded that, applying the rules of statutory interpretation, a mineshaft does not constitute a structure. That being so there was no duty placed upon Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service to effect a rescue and accordingly no prospect of establishing any criminal breach of duty."

Mrs Hume was walking to her home in Galston, Ayrshire, around midnight on July 26, 2008 when the ground gave way beneath her and she dropped down a hidden mineshaft.

Emergency services were called two hours later after she was discovered by her daughter, Jayne.

Firefighters prepared to hoist her to the surface but were told by a higher ranking officer it breached health and safety rules, leaving Mrs Hume trapped for eight hours. She suffered a heart attack whilst being brought to the surface and died later.

Stepfather Hugh Cowan, 72, said: "A mineshaft is both a tunnel and a structure. I wonder what kind of common sense these people use.

"It's ludicrous. They're just clutching at straws. My concern has always been justice for Alison. The system has let us down."