James has had a bad month. A few weeks ago, his uninsured garage, located away from his house, burnt down and he lost goods worth up to 5,000. It later transpires that the fire brigade was called and was on the way but failed to arrive as the fire engine was diverted to deal with a call claiming that a local factory was on fire, which turned out not to be the case. James claims that hoax calls are common and that the fire brigade made a huge error of judgment in not attending to his garage and is threatening to sue for negligence. Last week, James, who is partially sighted, was injured when he fell down a hole left unguarded by Leicester Local Council. The hole was dug to make urgent repairs to underground wires and there was a large sign warning people and the cones around the hole. The cones had been removed by some teenagers who used them for goalposts on a nearby field. And yesterday he was diagnosed with a chest disease. James doctor told him he must have contracted the disease while working down a coal mine for the past ten years. He worked in three mines but two of them are now closed so he wants to claim against the only remaining one, called North Eastern Coal. He worked at North Eastern Coal for only three of the ten years and the medical evidence shows that although he clearly caught the disease at some time in his employment at the mines, it is impossible to say for certain how much each one contributed to his condition. None of the mines had adequate facilities for dealing with coal dust.

Explain whether James could claim against the fire service, Leicester Local Council and his former employers in negligence. With reference to duty of care and breach of duty.