The Health and Safety Executive has released details of an explosion that they investigated that resulted in the death of a pensioner at his home in Manchester.

The gas fitter in question received a suspended prison sentence and curfew after it was found that he damaged live electrical cables causing a hole to burn through a gas pipe whilst installing a new boiler resulting in a build up of gas pressure. It was reported that Peter Smith, a pensioner from Brynorme Road in Crumpsall, fell into a coma for three months following the incident which occurred when he turned on the gas hob on his cooker in September 2011. As a result Christopher Laffin was ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid community work.

Peter Smith, 66, was in a coma for three months following the blast, which happened when he turned on the gas hob on his cooker to make his lunch on 27 September 2011. The spark from the cooker ignited gas that had built up in his house on Brynorme Road in Crumpsall after leaking from a hole in a pipe.

Christopher Laffin, an employee at AWL Plumbing and Heating Ltd had, after investigation, apparently fitted a new boiler and had damaged live cables in the process, causing a hole to burn through the gas pipe. As a result, they were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive. He used a blow torch to solder together gas pipes that ran alongside them both and had wrapped plastic tape around the cables instead of repairing them, despite them being charred. The investigation found electrical arcing from one of the damaged cables had burnt through and slowly burnt an oval hole in one of the gas pipes, approximately a centimetre in diameter which was wide enough to allow gas to build up in Mr Smith’s home. Mr Smith did not notice it because he lacks a sense of smell.

Mr Smith suffered 58% burns to his body after he was thrown to the floor in the explosion, and was put in an induced coma in hospital to stabilise his condition. His house was severely damaged and the conservatory completely destroyed. The court was told Mr Smith was lucky to survive.
Christopher Laffin, of Reston in Staveley, Cumbria, received a six month prison sentence, suspended for two years, be subject to a curfew, requiring him to stay at home between 6pm and 6am on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for the next six months, and was ordered to carry out 300 hours of community service and ordered to pay £1,000 in prosecution costs. It is not known if any cheap liability insurance company was involved or if home insurers were involved either. Cheap plumbers liability and cheap Gas fitters insurance is available to suitably qualified
tradesmen.