A gas blast victim lost everything and one of his pets was killed when a suicidal neighbour severed a gas pipe then flicked a lighter.
Ian Lenaghan caused more than £1m of damage to the terrace of flats where he lived and left those who lived closest to him traumatised. Downstairs neighbour, George Rodham, was watching TV when he heard a "whoosh" and the building collapsed around him while another neighbour said it sounded like a bomb going off.
Mr Rodham, who needed hospital treatment, had no contents insurance and lost every possession he had gathered during his 22 years living on Whickham Street, Sunderland. A court heard Falklands War veteran Lenaghan had made a determined effort to cut through and break a gas hose to his cooker then struck a lighter in an attempt to kill himself after a documentary about the 1980s conflict made him think he had done nothing of value since.
Read more: Schoolboy, 15, stabbed in Newcastle McDonald's in front of horrified families
Lenaghan, who served in the Royal Navy and later worked as an electrician, was badly burned but somehow survived the explosion. He has now been jailed for five years for causing it.
Newcastle Crown Court heard downstairs neighbour, Mr Rodham, was at home on February 15 this year and said he had heard drilling from upstairs that morning. He said such behaviour was not unusual and he had called the housing association out previously to repair damage, including flooding, caused by Lenaghan doing DIY.
However, later that afternoon, Mr Rodham was watching TV when his home was suddenly destroyed. Emma Dowling, prosecuting, said: "He heard a whoosh from upstairs and the building effectively collapsed around him.
"He escaped through a window as his front door was impassable. He had two cats and one died during the explosion."
Miss Dowling said Lynne Holland, who lives in an adjoining property "heard two booms like a bomb going off" and saw people outside telling her to get out. She walks with a stick and needed help to flee her home as her partner was at the shop and he heard the explosion and saw the damage when he returned. Another neighbour, John Gettings, saw his home shudder and looked out to see bricks in the street.
The home of Mr Rodham, who needed hospital treatment, was completely destroyed while Mrs Holland's was uninhabitable. Mr Gettings' home was not damaged but he has been unable to return due to fears over structural damage.
Lenaghan was found in the loft of his home and had suffered significant burns to 80% of his body. He initially denied being to blame for the explosion but a Health and Safety Executive investigation revealed what had happened.
The cooker gas hose had 15 cuts to its rubber sheath and the inner metal pipe had been bent to make it break and Lenaghan later admitted he had flicked a lighter in the escaped gas.
The court heard there were eight residents in the block, who all had to move. Gentoo, which owns seven of the properties, said whether they repair or demolish and rebuild, the cost will be more than £1m. Some 15 fire service vehicles attended the scene, with 40 crew members, at a cost of £7,000.
But Miss Dowling said the personal cost to the near neighbours was "overwhelming". She added: "Mr Rodham had no contents insurance and lost everything from the property where he has lived for 22 years. He now has PTSD as a result.
"Mrs Holland and her partner were left with only the clothes they were wearing at the time. They owned their address and hoped it would increase in value to leave an inheritance. She describes being a nervous wreck.
"Mr Gettings had no possessions in the immediate aftermath and had to plead with his bank because he had no cards or ID to replace the clothes he was wearing. He has regained lots of his belongings now."
Lenaghan, 59, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to criminal damage being reckless as to whether life was endangered and was jailed for five years. Referring to his desire to kill himself, Recorder Tom Moran said: "Sadly there are many ways of doing that but you chose a spectacularly reckless way to do it. Anyone thinking clearly would have seen the way you did it exposed other people to a great deal of danger as well.
"You sawed away at the gas hose connected to the cooker with a knife. That must have required some determination. You severed it so the gas came flowing out then ignited it with a lighter. You failed, probably narrowly, to kill yourself."
Tony Cornberg, defending, said: "This was impulse and something that came out of the blue but not because of any recognised mental impairment. He didn't expect to cause an explosion. It was an act he did in an attempt to take his life.
"There had been some media coverage of the 40th anniversary of the Falklands War, which he was in service during and it seemed to him he had done nothing of value since then. He said he couldn't bear another 30 years of doing the same.
"Asked why he did it this way he said 'because it was there'. He cut the pipe and a period of time elapsed and he ignited the lighter. He thought it would be contained in the kitchen - he clearly gave no thought to other consequences."
Mr Cornberg said Lenaghan suffered significant burns all over his body, has severely reduced lung capacity, can't use a pen or fork and now eats using his hands in prison. The court heard he had not previously tried to harm himself.
Read next:
- Husband who 'snapped' and smothered 'nagging' wife to death with pillow in Newcastle jailed for life
- South Shields bully dragged disabled girlfriend through broken glass and broke her arm
- Parents shocked Hebburn sex offender had been having sinister contact with their children
- Longbenton pensioner jailed for 'vile' sex attacks on boy three decades ago
- Bedlington dad savagely attacked in front of his terrified children after berating speeding driver
