Not possible to determine cause of house explosion that killed man, jury finds

The cause of an explosion which killed a grandfather in his south Wales home cannot be properly explained because evidence was lost, an inquest jury has ruled.

Brian Davies, 68, died from head and chest injuries in March 2023 when his home in Morriston, Swansea, was destroyed in the blast sending debris across the road and nearby streets.

A jury inquest into his death at Swansea Guildhall previously heard that evidence from the scene was compromised and incomplete because debris and rubble was cleared away while rescue teams searched for Mr Davies’ body.

Evidence

The jury concluded: “It is not possible to determine the cause of the explosion due to a lack of preserved material evidence.”

Ricky Davies, Mr Davies’ son, previously told the inquest his family believed “major mistakes” had been made and they felt “massively let down by the authorities losing evidence”.

Aled Wyn Gruffydd, senior coroner for Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, said: “I recognise the concerns raised by the family that the crucial answer to their question was hampered by a lack of preserved material.”

The coroner said he would write to the police advising that evidence should be preserved in future cases.

Responsibility 

The inquest heard that Mr Davies, a grandfather-of-three, who worked in the construction industry, had rented the one-bedroom end of terrace property for about three years before his death.

Harry Lambert, of Wales and West Utilities, which maintains the gas network across Wales and the south-west of England, said the police had “absolute” responsibility for gathering evidence at the scene and claimed there was no suggestion of problems with the network.

But the inquest heard from Claire Bennett, who lived next door to Mr Davies and had to be rescued from her home, who said she had been smelling gas at the rear of her property for the previous few weeks, which she attributed to maintenance work being carried out at a nearby house.