BEINSMARTSIDE UK Cowboy builder walks away from job seconds after causing house to explode

Cowboy builder walks away from job seconds after causing house to explode

June 30, 2025June 30, 2025 | .. | 0 Comment | 5:51 pm
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A builder who walked away from a job on a Nottingham home following an explosion has avoided jail.

Barry Newman, the sole trader of Foster Brother Builders, was hired to carry out refurbishment works at a property on Commercial Road, Bulwell.

The 51-year-old placed a faulty portable space heater connected to a propane gas can in a cellar to dry out.

On November 22, 2022, the heater exploded due to a gas leak, destroying almost all of the ground floor of the home.

Newman, who suffered burns to his face, hands and scalp, was filmed walking away from the gutted property.

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Debris from the blast was propelled onto the road and pavement.

Barry Newman, walking away from a house explosion at a property in Bulwell, Nottingham. This is the shocking moment a cowboy builder walks away from a house he caused to explode seconds earlier. Barry Newman, 58, was carrying out refurbishments on a property in Bulwell, Nottingham, when the three-storey terraced house blew from its first floor. The builder had placed a faulty portable space heater connected to a propane gas (LPG) cylinder, in the property?s cellar to dry out damp. However a gas leak from the heater resulted in a violent explosion causing the 51-year-old man to suffer severe burn injuries to his hands, legs, face and scalp - his burns were so serious, he has been unable to work since.
Barry Newman walked off while on the job after a home he was working on exploded due to a faulty heater (Picture: HSE/SWNS)

Newman failed to provide correctly maintained and suitable equipment and had not carried out a risk assessment, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found.

The manufacturer’s instructions for the heater he used state that the equipment should be placed in a well-ventilated area.

Propane containers should not be stored below ground, where leaked gas is more likely to collect and ignite.

At a hearing at Nottingham Magistrates Court this month, Newman pleaded guilty to breaching regulations regarding the use of building equipment.

Emergency services have rushed to house explosion on a Nottingham road. Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service was called to Commercial Road, Bulwell, at 12.02pm on Tuesday, November 22.
Firefighters on the scene following a house explosion at the property in Bulwell, Nottingham (Picture: BPM Media)

The builder was handed a prison sentence of 12 months, suspended for two years.

He will also have to complete 240 hours of unpaid work as well as pay £2,000 towards the cost of the damage.

Inspector Roy Poulter said: ‘This gas explosion has left one man unable to work due to the seriousness of the injuries sustained and it could have easily resulted in someone losing their life.

‘This case should serve as a strong reminder to those in the building trade on the dangers of working with gas and the need to assess the risk, and just how serious both HSE and the courts take failures like this.’

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