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A coroner has called for scenes of disaster to be preserved more carefully after an inquest jury concluded it was not possible to say what caused a fatal explosion at a terrace house in south Wales.
Brian Lyn Davies, a 68-year-old builder, died in the explosion at the rented one-bedroom property on Clydach Road in Morriston, Swansea, in 2023.
The force of the blast was so severe that when rescuers arrived the house had completely “disappeared”, the inquest at Swansea Guildhall heard.
Davies was found six hours later in what had been his kitchen. He had suffered chest and neck injuries.
One theory is that the house was destroyed by a gas explosion, with a neighbour testifying that she had smelled gas for a fortnight before the explosion.
But Wales & West Utilities, which maintains the gas network across Wales and the south-west of England, said it had not been possible to establish the cause because so much evidence was lost in the clear-up effort.
Harry Lambert, of Wales and West Utilities, said the police had “absolute” responsibility for gathering evidence at the scene and said there was no suggestion of problems with the network.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said they could not say a gas explosion was the probable cause – just one of the possibilities – because the scene was compromised.
Both Wales and West Utilities and the HSE were critical of the amount of potential evidence lost.
During the inquest, Ricky Davies, Davies’ son, told the court: “As a family we feel major mistakes have been made and we have been massively let down by the authorities losing evidence. We hope that harsh lessons have been learned and others don’t have to endure the heartache we have had to face.”
In a narrative conclusion, an inquest jury said it could not determine how the explosion had happened “due to a lack of preserved material evidence”.
Aled Wyn Gruffydd, senior coroner for Swansea and Neath Port Talbot, said: “I recognise the concerns raised by the family that the crucial answer to their question was hampered by a lack of preserved material.”
He said he would write to the police and the HSE asking them to draft a memorandum of understanding on how to preserve evidence for future investigations, while not compromising rescue efforts.
He said: “It’s only by learning lessons in incidents such as this that steps can be put in place to avoid or reduce the risk of future deaths.”
Claire Bennett, who lived next door, was sitting on her sofa when the explosion happened in March 2023.
She told the inquest: “Instantly, Brian’s house disappeared. They didn’t even know there was an end house when I first came out. I explained there was an end house and if the white van is there, then Brian’s there.”
