Neighbour smelt gas weeks before fatal explosion

The next-door neighbour of a man who died in a house explosion said he smelt gas in the weeks before, an inquest has heard.

Brian Davies, 68, was killed in the explosion on 13 March 2023 at his home on Clydach Road, Morriston, Swansea.

Three others, including a 14-year-old boy, were taken to hospital, while Claire Bennett, Mr Davies’ next-door neighbour, had to be rescued from her home.

She told an inquest in Swansea on Monday 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.

On the day of the explosion, Ms Bennett had taken her daughter to school and was sitting in her lounge when she heard a loud bang.

“There was a massive bang, and I immediately thought a car had hit the front corner of the house,” she told the hearing.

“Things went dark and I lost a couple of seconds and came to. The house was filled with debris and the ceiling and walls had fallen in.

“I remember a gentleman’s voice saying to me, ‘it’s OK’. I just remember he was pulling loads of debris off me to get me off the sofa.

She said she and her son, Ethan, had to have therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after the explosion.

“[My son] flew out of the building. I had to try and be a mum to him, try and be strong, but that was really hard,” she said.

“Brian’s house was completely destroyed and at first they didn’t know there was a house there.”

She said before the incident she had been smelling gas at the rear of her home.

“For about a fortnight I would go out through the side gate and there was a smell of gas, really strong in the road,” she said.

“At the time the house opposite the close was having work done and I just thought the smell was them doing work.”

Ms Bennett said her home was destroyed in the explosion and she had lost many of her possessions.

“For about a year-and-a-half from the moment I open my eyes in the morning until I go to bed at night, I thought I was going to die,” she added.

“Things are triggering, like the dark and noises.”

The jury also heard from former postman Jonathan Roberts, who was on his round on Clydach Road, when the explosion happened as he drove past the side of Mr Davies’ house.

The moment, caught on CCTV, was shown to the jury and smoke could be seen appearing instantly as debris flew from the building.

The court heard evidence in a statement from the owner of the house, Jeffery White, who said no major works had been carried out at the property in the year before the incident.

He said the boiler was about seven years old.

At the beginning of the inquest Aled Wyn Gruffydd, senior coroner for Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, told the jury they would hear evidence of how Mr Davies died in the explosion “as well as the circumstances of that explosion”.

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

Wales and West Utilities, which maintains the gas network across Wales and the south-west of England, is represented during the inquest, and the Health and Safety Executive is also in attendance.

The inquest, which is due to last a week at Swansea Guildhall, continues.