A U.K. man was sentenced to 15 years in jail after he caused a gas explosion that killed a toddler while he was cutting pipes to sell for scrap metal.
Darren Greenham, 45, was using an angle grinder to cut a copper pipe while under the influence of alcohol and drugs in the early hours of the morning of May 16. His cutting resulted in an explosion that took the life of 2-year-old George Hinds in Heysham, Lancashire, UKDaily News reported.
On Wednesday, Greenham was sentenced on manslaughter charges by Judge Robert Altham, who said Greenham “was a selfish and disruptive neighbor.”
Altham continued saying that Greenham “lived his life with no regard for the comfort of those unfortunate enough to live next to him.”
Greenham lived next to the Hinds family, George’s father, Stephen Hinds, and his mother, Vicki Studholme. During the trial, Studholme described him as a “neighbor from hell.”
“By Darren Greenham cutting a gas main to make a few pounds, I’ve lost my son, my absolute world,” Hinds told the court earlier this week.
George’s parents watched the sentencing of Greenham, and judge Altham commended them for their dignity. They both shared statements from the court, expressing their anguish for having lost their son.
“After the blast, being trapped in the rubble was the greatest fear I have ever had in my life,” Studholme said in a statement read before the court. “That was until I got to the hospital to find that George had died. Never in my life have I felt more scared than at this moment.”
The blast that claimed the life of George happened at 2:36 a.m. and damaged a total of 55 properties, and completely destroyed the Lancashire County Council’s property, MEAWW reported.
Greenham suffered a severe head injury from the blast that he caused and also lost parts of his right hand. In August, he pleaded guilty to manslaughter, damaging the gas meter, and stealing gas.
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