Justin Lewis

Justin joined Hawkins in 2012 after a career spanning over 21 years in the Forensic Science Service (FSS). He was a Principal Forensic Scientist with the FSS and acted as an expert witness in a wide range of criminal cases involving murder, attempted murder, arson, rape, robbery, firearms offences, burglary and criminal damage. He was the National Scientific Lead for Fire Investigation and was responsible for scientific standard setting in Case Assessment and Interpretation. From 1999 to 2006 he was a Specialist Advisor in the Major Crime Service where he formulated forensic strategy, trained Senior Investigating Officers and reviewed cold cases. He also advised senior police officers in the Caribbean on undetected murder cases. He has acted as an expert witness to the Criminal Justice System in cases involving glass, paint, fibres, footwear marks, tool marks, particulates, accelerants and fire/explosion investigation. He has presented evidence on many occasions in Magistrates’ Court, Crown Court, at Coroner’s Inquests and at the Appeal Court. He is experienced in ISO 17025 accreditation and a scientific auditor. Justin joined Hawkins as a fire and explosion investigator and specialises in domestic and commercial incidents. He is a Principal Associate based in our Cambridge Office.

Anna Knight

After completing her first degree and before starting her Masters Degree, Anna carried out a summer placement with the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA). Her role there involved investigating the failure of a diverse range of items from defective aircraft hatches to electronic components. Following her Masters Degree, Anna was employed at the Lothian and Borders Police Forensic Science Laboratory, Edinburgh where she was trained in the examination of items for paint and glass residue and the presentation of scientific evidence for use in Police investigations. Anna’s PhD involved the non-destructive analysis of materials such as hydroxyapatite (used for hip replacements) and cadmium sulphide in order to determine the structure and composition materials with depth. This required the use of a number of mathematical, computing and analytical techniques. Anna joined Hawkins in 2005, specialising as a fire and explosion investigator, although she also investigates other incidents, such as paint spills and other damage incidents. She has carried out numerous forensic investigations, which have varied greatly in scale from relatively small domestic incidents to large warehouse fires. Anna has, as part of her Masters Degree, completed the well renowned Bond Solon course relating to reporting and giving oral evidence in […]

James Kingham

James graduated from the University of Birmingham in 2005 with a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering, having completed an industrial placement year working in cryogenics for The Hymatic Engineering Company (now part of Honeywell Aerospace’s Defence & Space business group). After graduating, James returned to Honeywell Aerospace as a development engineer, working on Joule-Thomson coolers and Stirling Cycle Cryocoolers primarily for missile and satellite applications. This included customer driven development projects as well as R&D and investigative projects. In 2010, James took on the role of New Product Development Manager with ITT (later Xylem) Flow Control, overseeing the development of pneumatic and hydraulic valve actuation controls and actuators for use in severe service environments, including the oil & gas and rail industries. James was then promoted to Centre of Excellence Engineering Lead – Valves (Technical Manager) in 2013, becoming the senior technical contact at the Wolverhampton site overseeing product development, project management and product certification activities within the business. James is a Chartered Engineer and as such is a full member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers. James also holds a Level 5 diploma in Management & Leadership and is a Six Sigma Black Belt.

Paul Hughes

Paul left Newcastle University in 2007 with a Masters Degree in Civil and Structural Engineering. As part of his course of study he spent a year at the National University of Singapore on a graduate exchange programme. He joined Royal Haskoning, Maritime Division, working from the design office on a wide variety of projects including ports, shipyards, dry docks, terminals and other maritime structures. During this time he was also seconded to BAM Nuttall, working on the London Olympic site overseeing the construction of bridges and retaining walls. In 2011, Paul joined 2H Offshore and over the next five years worked from London, Paris, Dubai and Kuala Lumpur on the design and management of specialist offshore projects. He expanded his engineering knowledge into subsea systems, specialising in the design, structural analysis and integrity management of riser and conductor systems. This included the design and construction of minimal facilities platforms and subsea structures for hybrid risers. Paul joined Hawkins in 2016 in order to further expand the civil engineering capability of the company.

Sarah Hooton

Sarah is a specialist in fire engineering and fire safety provisions in buildings – investigating design and construction defects and also where a fire has occurred, how the design or construction of fire safety provisions may have impacted upon fire spread. Sarah graduated with a first class degree in Civil Engineering, specialising in Structural Engineering from the University of Adelaide in 2001. She has since developed a career in design and construction with over 15 years’ experience at Ove Arup & Partners in their London, Birmingham and Hong Kong offices. Commencing as a Bridge Engineer in their Birmingham branch, Sarah worked on the design of a variety of civil engineering projects including the M42 widening scheme and the design of the East London Line Project (now known as part of the London Overground railway).  On the East London Line Project, she was seconded as Site Engineer for Transport for London, assisting in the management of health and safety, quality and programme. Upon returning to design consultancy in London, Sarah joined the fire engineering team, following an interest in fire safety design, where she developed fire strategies for low and high-rise residential buildings, commercial, railway stations, bus garages, museums and sports […]

John Holland

An Intel scholar, John graduated with a 1st Class Honours Degree in Mechanical Engineering from University College Dublin, Ireland in 2000. As part of his degree he developed an automatic moisture sensor for use in the peat industry for which he was awarded the Hewlett Packard national award for innovation in engineering. After a brief period with Schlumberger Oilfield Services in Peru, John returned to Ireland to take up a position with Teradyne Connection Systems, before joining Timoney Technology as a mechanical design engineer, where he specialised in the design and development of Hydropneumatic Suspension Systems for specialty off road vehicles. In this role he also gained considerable experience with computer aided engineering techniques such as Finite Element Analysis and Vehicle Multi-body Dynamic Analysis. John was appointed engineering manager with Timoney Technology and took over full technical responsibility for all engineering projects and products. Projects of note include the DARPA Unmanned Ground Combat Vehicle, the USMC Gladiator Tactical Unmanned Vehicle and the Timoney ADT Independent Suspension Axle System manufactured under licence by Terex Equipment Ltd. John was also involved with the Ginaf Rally Power and DeRooy race teams for the 2007 Dakar Rally and has numerous automotive suspension patents filed […]

Richard Heath

After obtaining a First Class Honours Degree in Electronic Engineering from the University of York in 1996, Richard began his career working for the research and development organisation of Nortel Networks, a manufacturer of telecommunications equipment, investigating methods for improving the capacity, resilience and flexibility of optical transmission networks. During this time his work generated intellectual property and he co-authored several patents. In 2004, Richard joined Hawkins as a Forensic Investigator working on behalf of insurers, utilities providers, local authorities and private companies. He specialises in the investigation of fires, explosions and electrical engineering losses. He has undertaken many forensic investigations of fires in industrial and commercial premises. In addition he investigates domestic and vehicle/machinery fire losses. He also investigates electrical engineering failures leading to electric shocks, electrocutions, failures of alarm systems and electronic control systems, personal injuries and electrical equipment damage. He has given evidence as an expert witness in Civil and Coroner’s Courts.

Ed Hammersley

After graduating from the University of York in 2002, Ed worked at analytical laboratories in Yorkshire and London, specialising in the field of analytical chemistry. He then moved to Pfizer in Kent, as an analytical research scientist within the pharmaceutical research and development group. During his nine years at Pfizer, Ed specialised in analytical method development and trace analysis for low-level impurities and contaminants in drug substances and products. A wide range of analytical techniques were used, with a particular focus on gas chromatography and liquid chromatography, both coupled with mass spectrometry detection. Some of this work was published in scientific literature and presented at conferences. Ed joined Hawkins in 2021 as a Senior Associate before being promoted to a Principal Associate. He has now conducted more than 850 forensic investigations. Those investigations have included fires, explosions, electrical incidents, contamination assessment, chemical reactions and escapes of water within domestic, industrial and marine environments. He regularly travels overseas to conduct investigations. Several of his high-profile cases have involved material losses of more than £10m, with some exceeding £100m. The marine vessel incidents have involved both engine room and cargo fires, including the TAC Imola, fires onboard large yachts and superyachts, and […]

Camilla Gosling

Camilla has an MSc in Forensic Science, from the University of Strathclyde, which included a research project at LGC Forensics, Culham entitled “A population study of polyurethane foam fragments present in outer clothing and in pockets”. She also has a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry from the University of Durham. Since joining Hawkins in 2006, Camilla has been involved in researching paint spillage patterns, including the mechanics of falling paint and paint containers, also researching into the burning of different flooring types using cigarettes and a variety of irons. She has been involved in the forensic investigation of domestic and commercial insurance claims including paint and varnish spillages, accidental damages and staged break-ins. She has also been instructed on cases relating to personal injuries and the wear characteristics of car keys. From 2007, Camilla has carried out numerous investigations into fires and explosions. These cases have varied in scale ranging from small domestic incidents to large multi-million pound losses involving domestic properties, vehicles, retail, industrial and agricultural premises. Camilla has prepared expert witness reports for use in litigation and has completed the Bond Solon Courses in investigative interviewing and giving oral evidence in Court. Camilla is a Principal Associate based in […]

Hannah Fletcher

Hannah graduated with a first class degree in Civil Engineering from Imperial College London in 2011. Upon graduation, Hannah joined Laing O’Rourke and worked on both infrastructure and commercial construction projects. She supervised construction works as a Site Engineer at Beckton Sewage Treatment Works Upgrade and then, as a Senior Engineer, planned and managed works on 3 projects: Crossrail- Tottenham Court Road Station, Wood Wharf (Canary Wharf) and Southbank Place. During this time Hannah gained experience in reinforced concrete construction: in-situ, pre-cast, basement raft slabs, jump forms and suspended slabs. She also gained experience in temporary works, lifting operations, excavations and installation of pressure pipelines. In 2016 Hannah moved to New Zealand to work for Fletcher Construction as a Project Manager. She led the delivery of a 40 storey commercial office tower, part of the Commercial Bay project in central Auckland, where she gained experience in steel structures, building envelopes (curtain wall façade and roof systems) and structural fire protection. Hannah joined Hawkins in 2020 and since joining has developed her skills to include the investigation of fires. She has since investigated fires in both domestic and commercial settings, as well as construction incidents, water ingress and storm damage. She is […]