Worker vows to walk again after Kidderminster factory explosion

When he arrived for work at Filtration Service Engineering Ltd, in Kidderminster, on December 8, 2011, Clive Dainty did not know his life was about to change forever.

The 51-year-old was caught in the blast when a 335-litre vessel exploded. Mr Dainty spent months in hospital and had to have both legs amputated.

He also suffered head and arm injuries. Speaking from his home in King Charles Close, Kidderminster, the father-of-two said he did not remember the explosion.

"It was all too quick," he said. "The first thing I remember clearly is waking up in the hospital around two months after the explosion.

"Because of my injuries I was placed in an induced coma to protect my organs for around seven weeks."

Mr Dainty spent about 11 months in hospital – first at the Queen Elizabeth in Birmingham and then at Kidderminster. And he is still receiving treatment right up to the present with an operation to his right femur scheduled to take place on March 10.

"Even after all this time the femur is still broken," he said. "I am determined to walk again and at the moment have practice prosthetics for my legs. Learning to walk again from scratch is difficult, especially at my age, but I am determined to do it. I know I will never be able to walk great distances but I just want to be able to get out of my wheelchair and leave my home. I will walk again."

Filtration Service Engineering Ltd, of the Oldington Trading Estate, was fined £30,000 after pleading guilty to breaching health and safety regulations. It was also ordered to pay £15,325 costs.

Mr Dainty said: "It was all the company could afford without having to fold. I would not want to see other workers lose their jobs."