Man jailed after blowing up his home

A man who caused an explosion that destroyed his own home and damaged five neighbouring properties has been jailed.

Paul Solway had been having a "meltdown" after his partner told him she wanted him to move out of the terraced property they shared in Eden Street, Alvaston, Derby, in June 2025, a court heard.

Derbyshire Police said the 58-year-old disconnected the gas main in the basement and then set fire to a chair in his kitchen to cause the blast.

Solway pleaded guilty on the first day of his trial in January to six counts of damaging property, being reckless as to whether life was endangered and was jailed for 11 years at Derby Crown Court on Wednesday.

The sentencing hearing was told emergency services were called to a suspected gas explosion at the house, owned by Solway's partner Joanne Waterfall, on the evening of 10 June.

The blast caused major damage to the property and two neighbouring buildings which subsequently had to be demolished.

Derbyshire Police said investigations found the explosion was deliberate and had been caused by the ignition of natural gas following deliberate tampering with the gas supply main.

After disconnecting the gas main in the basement of the house, Solway then set fire to a chair in the kitchen which caused the gas to ignite, the force said.

Prosecutor Paul Raudnitz KC said Solway had been having a "meltdown" after being told he needed to move out by Waterfall, who had already left the house.

He was punching a garden fence before the explosion and told a neighbour he was "going to be dead by tonight".

Solway was the only person in the property at the time and suffered severe burns, with a dog also rescued from the rubble.

Six further counts of damaging property with intent to endanger life were left on file by the prosecution.

Sentencing Solway, Judge Shaun Smith KC said the effects of the blast were "devastating".

"The front wall of your house had been blown out into the street," he said..

"People have lost a lot of money, their savings. They are now, some of them, reliant on council-provided accommodation.

"What you did in the end was you affected your community, your own little community on that street. Not one of them escaped the consequences really of what you did that night."

After the sentencing, Waterfall said: "I have got nothing. I have had to start off from absolutely zero. I walked away with one outfit and that was it."

The judge made Solway subject of a restraining order which prohibits him from contacting Waterfall.

Speaking outside Derby Crown Court, Insp Ben Wildman, local policing inspector for the east of the city, said the explosion had a "huge impact" on the community.

"The explosion in Eden Street on 10 June last year was caused by Paul Solway's decision to cut the gas pipe in his home," he said.

"This incident not only left him seriously injured in hospital but had a huge impact on the residents and the community of Eden Street and the surrounding area."

Wildman added that Solway's actions were "selfish and reckless".

"Many people were forced to leave their homes for several days and two adjoining houses to Solway's were so badly damaged they had to be demolished," he said.

"I cannot begin to imagine the distress these families felt at the time and the ongoing impact this is having on them all through no fault of their own.

"To have that taken away from them is devastating and even more so when it was down to an incident like this – a wholly avoidable, selfish and reckless act carried out by Paul Solway.

"I know this incident caused a great deal of destruction and distress but by working together we were able to make sure that everyone affected was well looked after.

"I hope everyone is now able to look forward to the future and I'm pleased that Solway is now facing the consequences of his dangerous and careless actions on this day."

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