Paul Solway, 58, has been sentenced to 11 years in prison for causing a gas explosion that destroyed his partner's home and damaged five other terrace houses in Alvaston, Derby, on 10 June last year. The blast occurred after his partner, Joanne Waterfall, had asked him to move out.
Solway disconnected a gas pipe and set fire to a chair in the kitchen, igniting the gas and causing an explosion that blew the front of the house into the street. Video footage from Derbyshire Constabulary captured the moment debris was thrown towards a passing car. Two neighbouring properties had to be demolished, and thousands of pounds of damage was caused.
Solway suffered serious burns and was placed in a medically induced coma after the blast. He pleaded guilty in January to six counts of damaging property being reckless as to whether life was endangered, relating to six houses. He appeared at Derby Crown Court via video link from HMP Nottingham on Wednesday.
In a statement read by Judge Shaun Smith KC, Ms Waterfall said she had lost everything, had no insurance, and had to start from zero. She expressed that the sentence should have been longer and that Solway had never apologised, showing no remorse. Another homeowner, whose property had been in her family for four generations, was left in a 'really dark place' after her house was partly demolished.
Prosecutor Paul Raudnitz KC stated Solway was having a 'meltdown' and told a neighbour he would be 'dead by tonight' before the explosion. Solway later told officers that gas was involved. Judge Smith noted the devastating effects on the community, with many families left reliant on council accommodation. A restraining order was also imposed, prohibiting Solway from contacting Ms Waterfall.
