Man jailed for blowing up his bungalow in Hambleton

A man who blew up his Hambleton home has been jailed.

Darren Davies poured petrol around the bungalow on Carr Lane and also had a gas bottle inside the property.

The resulting explosion saw the bungalow engulfed in flames, with glass and debris strewn across the road outside.

Thick black smoke could be seen from some distance away, and the force of the explosion meant that only one wall of the bungalow was left standing.

Davies was in the property when it exploded around 9.50am on 27th March this year but escaped with minor injuries.

He told paramedics treating him and the chief fire officer who attended, that his intention had been to kill himself and ‘take the house with him’.

Davies had become paranoid that family members wanted to take the bungalow off him, the property having been left to him and his brother by their father.

One witness who was driving on Carr Lane when the explosion happened, saw Davies walk from the bungalow wearing pyjama bottoms and an orange hooded top.

Davies spoke to the witness and made the comment: “My family want the house, if I can’t have it no one can.”

His brother, who he lived with, was at work when Davies caused the explosion. He received a WhatsApp message from a friend who worked near to the bungalow, requesting he phoned him.

When he called his friend, he was told his home had burned down and there was ‘nothing left’.

The emergency services declared a major incident such was the extent of the fire and explosion.

Davies was arrested at the scene, and after receiving treatment at hospital, was taken into custody.

He was subsequently charged with arson and remanded in custody to await court proceedings.

Davies, 55, formerly of Carr Lane, Hambleton, appeared at Preston Crown Court for sentence today (Thursday 30th July) after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to arson being reckless as to whether life would be endangered.

He was jailed for four years and four months.

Detective Constable Dave Pinnington of Lancaster CID, said: “Darren Davies’ reckless actions destroyed his own bungalow and could have put many people’s lives at risk in the surrounding area.

“This was an extremely dangerous scene for the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service and for Lancashire Police officers to attend.

“I’d like to thank my uniformed colleagues for their actions when they turned up at Carr Lane that morning.

“They were faced with chaos and danger at the scene and worked under those conditions to get people to safety and find out quickly what had happened.

“Darren Davies now has to face the consequences of what he did by spending time in prison.”