Couple tell of blast due to cowboy's work

A retired couple whose £100,000 bungalow was destroyed in a gas blast caused by a cowboy plumber today told for the first time how their lives were turned upside down by the devastating accident.

John Davies, aged 67, broke down in tears as he told how his nine-year-old granddaughter offered to be his "eyes" after he was left temporarily blinded by the explosion.

Yesterday Peter Naylor, who had a plumbing stall at Willenhall Market, was given a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for a year, and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work after admitting a health and safety breach.

Wolverhampton Crown Court was told how he had agreed a fee of £125 to fix a dripping tap and needed to remove a gas meter, which he was not qualified to do, to get to it.

But 61-year-old Naylor's work flooded the kitchen and he left Mr Davies to dry it out while he went to fetch a part.

Former Express & Star van driver Mr Davies plugged in an electric heater in an effort to speed up the dry-out.

Gas had been left to seep out and a huge explosion then ripped the house apart.

Mr Davies said: "I can remember looking at the heater and thinking it was melting. Then I heard a bang and what happened after that I just don't know. I remember going out the back and rolling in the snow. The flames were all on my arms and my clothes were stuck to me. The snow saved my life and I feel lucky to be alive."

Mr Davies was left with 21 per cent burns to his face, neck and hands, but went back inside to rescue his nine-year old grand-daughter Amelia. She escaped unharmed but the bungalow had to be demolished following the drama. Mr Davies spent three weeks in the burns unit at Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

He had a skin graft to his left hand, which now has less grip. His face remains tender and he needs to stay in the shade on sunny holidays.

Mr Davies, who spent three weeks in hospital following the accident, recalled how Amelia had carried a TV into his bedroom while he was recovering and left temporarily blinded.

"She said 'I know you can't watch it but if you want to know anything, I will tell you. If you want I'll be your eyes."

Mr Davies' wife Margaret, aged 65, told how the couple had lost all their possessions, including photographs and a cherished china tea set which once belonged to her mother.

The couple, who have a grown-up son and daughter, are now living in rented accommodation in Bilston paid for by their insurers while a new bungalow is built on the same site.

Mr Davies, who denied Naylor's claims that he had warned him he was unqualified, said he had hoped Naylor would have got a longer sentence.

Self-employed Naylor, who has now retired after a 30 year career, was uninsured. Mr Richard Quinn, defending, told Wolverhampton Crown Court yesterday: "He's extremely remorseful and he's been having difficulty sleeping. The plight of Mr Davies is constantly on his mind. He completely and utterly accepts the blame."

Judge Amjad Nawaz told Naylor: "What you did was so, so reckless that you nearly caused the death of a number of people."