‘What you did, in the end, was you affected your own little community on that street’
Paul Solway pleaded guilty to six counts of ‘damaging property being reckless as to whether life was endangered’
A “selfish” Derby man deliberately caused an explosion which devastated residents on an Alvaston street after telling a neighbour he was suffering from “a meltdown”.
Derby Crown Court heard how Paul Solway went into his basement in Eden Street, removed a pipe to release gas and then set a chair alight causing a blast which demolished his address and caused brutal damage to a number of neighbouring ones.
Remarkably, it was only Solway who suffered any injury in the blast.
Jailing the 58-year-old father for 11 years, Judge Shaun Smith KC said: “The consequences were devastating.
“You only have to look at the photographs, as I have, to see the true effects of what you did. “Thankfully no-one else suffered any physical injuries but there were psychological effects of your selfish and reckless behaviour.
“People lost a lot of money, some are now reliant on the council for their accommodation.
“What you did, in the end, was you affected your community – your own little community on that street.
“Not one of them escaped the consequences of what you did that night. Each of them suffered and each of them witnessed how others have suffered.”
Pictured is the demolished house in Eden Street, Alvaston(Image: Derby Telegraph)
Paul Raudnitz KC, prosecuting, said the explosion took place at 7,24pm on June 10, last year.
He said: “In summary, the case against the defendant is that he had gone into the basement and detached the Anaconda pipe from the service pipe which led to gas being liberated into the property.
“He then went into the kitchen and set fire to a chair on the kitchen floor which ignited.
“When the fire and rescue service arrived he (Solway) was coming out of the back of the property; he had a badly burned face and hair and had obviously been very close to the source of the explosion.
“He told the police it was gas and it was just him and the dog in the property.
“He had been alone there for sometime. Cadent also later carried out an investigation and showed there was no gas leak which could have caused the explosion.”
Mr Raudnitz said around three hours before the blast the defendant’s partner left the address with the three children saying she “wanted him out of the house and would be back tomorrow”.
He said a neighbour later heard loud banging and looked into the garden to see Solway repeatedly punching a fence.
The prosecutor said: “He told her he was having a meltdown and said he was going to be dead by tonight.
The explosion devastated Eden Street
“During the investigation the police found a noose hanging from a beam in a garden outbuilding showing possible suicidal intentions.
In January this year, on what was supposed to be the first day of his trial at Derby Crown Court, Solway, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to six counts of damaging property being reckless as to whether life was endangered.
Judge Smith read to the court a summary of a number of victim impact statements mainly made by those affected by the explosion.
In hers, Solway’s partner told how “everything she owns has now gone due to the explosion and demolition”.
She said she was uninsured and so now relies on the local authority for accommodation. Another neighbour whose property was partially-demolished told how the house had been in her family for four generations.
One victim said: “The sound of the blast is something I will never forget, to say it shook me is an understatement. I always felt safe in the house.
“It almost felt like the street had been bombed and we were left like refugees looking for support.”
Another said: “The whole flat seemed to lift up and drop down again.”
Jessica Strange, mitigating, said: “Many people have been affected by this and it is important to him that they know how extremely sorry and regretful he is. His recollection of things is simply not there.”
Speaking after sentencing, Inspector Ben Wildman, of Derbyshire Police, praised the community in Alvaston.
He said: “I cannot begin to imagine the distress these families felt at the time, and the ongoing impact this is having on them – all through no fault of their own.
“For any family, their home is the place where they find sanctuary, where they feel the most comfortable and secure.
“To have that taken away from them is devastating, and even more so when it is down to an incident like this, a wholly avoidable selfish and reckless act carried out by Paul Solway.
“What really stood out throughout all this was the incredible community spirit that was shown. In times of difficulty and distress, residents came together to support each other.”