‘Neighbour from hell’ caused gas blast that killed two-year-old George Hinds, court hears | UK News
A two-year-old boy died after his “neighbor from hell” caused a gas explosion by cutting pipes to sell scrap metal, a court has heard.
Darren Greenham, 45, used an angle grinder to cut the pipe in the early hours of May 16 in Lancashire last year, prosecutors said.
It causes a big Bang killed George Hinds, whose family lived on neighboring property on Mallowdale Avenue, Heysham, Preston Crown Court was told.
Stephen Hinds, George’s father, told the court: “By Darren Greenham cutting a gas pipeline to create a few questions, I lost my son, my absolute world.”
He said Greenham, who was dependent on alcohol and drugs, had made life “miserable” for his neighbors and would play music until the early hours and insult George.
Mr Hinds, who wore a blue Paw Patrol tie and carried a Paw Patrol toy into the witness bin, said: “It makes my blood boil, I always do the right thing and report it to the council and the police, no nothing has ever been done.”
In a statement, George’s mother Vicki Studholme said she felt “unsafe” in the home because of Greenham, a “neighbor from hell” who she said had threatened violence against him. her, her husband and their son.
She said: “I really feel that although we have reported this countless times, we have been let down by the council and the police, and the death of my beautiful baby boy could have been avoided. “
The court heard that the explosion at 2.36am destroyed the Lancashire County Council property where Greenham lived and severely damaged two neighboring terraced houses.
A total of 55 properties in the area were damaged.
Timothy Cray KC, prosecutor, said that at the time of the explosion, the council was looking at proceeding with eviction proceedings following several complaints about Greenham’s conduct.
The court found that the gas meter on the property had been altered so that Greenham could receive gas without paying.
A report from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after the explosion found that wooden flooring had been removed from the home’s first-floor landing and gas lines had been cut off. intentional way.
The report said the explosion could have occurred 20 to 40 minutes after they were cut and before that there would have been a strong smell of gas and an audible noise.
Greenham, who suffered a severe head injury and lost most of the use of his right hand in the blast, pleaded guilty in August to manslaughter, damaging a gas meter and stealing gas.
He will be sentenced on Wednesday.