A LASTING and practical tribute to two young jockeys who died in a fire almost five years ago has moved a step closer.

Jamie Kyne, 18, and Jan Wilson, 19, died in a blaze that was started deliberately at Buckrose Court in Norton, near Malton, North Yorkshire, in September 2009.

Now Racing Welfare has secured planning consent to convert a property in Malton to provide safe, supported accommodation for young stable staff along with a suite for use by the wider racing community

Work will now start to convert the ground floor of the Victorian building on Old Maltongate into the charity’s regional welfare office, with the upper floors being transformed into four bedrooms, a communal lounge, kitchen and bathrooms.

The outbuildings will be demolished to create two additional bedrooms on the first floor with a community suite on the ground floor.

Simon Clarke, chairman of Racing Homes, Racing Welfare’s housing association, said the property would provide young people, entering the racing industry in Malton, with comfortable homes and added personal support from the local Racing Welfare team.

He added: "Our proposed plans for the development of the outbuildings into a community and IT suite will provide an educational and social meeting space for the wider racing community in Malton.”

The new facility is planned to open early next year at a cost of around £400,000 and part of the funds for the development were donated after the deaths of the teenage jockeys