A man who died after ‘blowing up’ his house when his landlord increased the rent by less than £100 told his friends ‘it’s going with a bang’, an inquest heard.
David Howard, 53, blew his home up on John Street in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, in April 2025, killing both himself and his dog Roxy.
The fatal decision came after he received a letter earlier that day from his landlord, stating that his monthly rent would increase by £80 – from £460 to £540.
Mr Howard told his friends that afternoon he was going to ‘blow the house up’ and warned ‘you wait until the end of the day’, the inquest heard on Monday.
The father-of-two, who was a heroin and cocaine user, added he had not slept for three days and was ‘very upset’ about the rent increase.
His friends expressed concern as Mr Howard repeated: ‘You watch’, ‘You wait until the end of the day’ and ‘You wait to see what happens’.
One of his friends Shanelle Williams told officers Mr Howard said he was ‘p****d off and could not cope anymore’.
Ms Williams, whose account was read to the inquiry by DC Daniel Akehurst, described Mr Howard as being ‘in a mood and depressed’.
David Howard, 53, blew his home up on John Street in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, in April 2025, killing both himself and his dog Roxy
The house had ‘fully collapsed’, the inquest heard, when emergency services arrived at the ‘chaotic scene’, where a major incident was declared
Mr Howard called her at around 3pm, telling her ‘he had pulled the pipes’ and spoke about ‘blowing up the house’, where he had lived for 11 years.
Ms Williams received another call at 3.29pm, when Mr Howard said: ‘I’ve done it, I’ve pulled the pipes off the gas. It’s going to go with a bang.’
This came after Mr Howard locked his doors after two of his friends, who had been visiting him, went to the shops – which they described as ‘strange’.
When they returned, Mr Howard told them: ‘Go, I don’t want anyone else to get hurt. Please just go.’
Asked whether they could take his dog Roxy, Mr Howard replied: ‘Roxy is staying with me.’
He also told a female friend, who could smell gas, to ‘f*** off’.
The inquiry heard another friend told Mr Howard through the locked door: ‘You are being stupid, there are kids next door. You are a f***ing idiot.’
The hearing was not told whether Mr Howard’s friends attempted to notify the police.
Emergency services were then notified of the explosion on John Street at 7.39pm.
DC Akehurst said the house had ‘fully collapsed’ when emergency services arrived at the ‘chaotic scene’, where a major incident was declared.
Up to 200 people were ‘milling around’ the street as residents were evacuated, the inquest heard.
DC Akehurst said the explosion was ‘large and powerful’ and nearby properties were damaged from its force.
Mr Howard was found conscious when emergency services arrived but was struggling to breathe, as he ‘was slowly crushed’ while ‘trapped under a significant amount of rubble’, according to a statement from a first responder.
Crew struggled to reach Mr Howard, who was pronounced dead at the scene at 9.58pm.
Christopher Trendowicz, a fire investigator at Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, told the hearing the explosion occurred on the ground floor of the property, causing the first floor to collapse.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) instructed gas company Cadent to investigate any possible external leaks, but none were found.
The gas meter, boiler and piping were also tested and found to be safe.
The only abnormality identified was damage to the cooker owned by Mr Howard, whose flexible gas pipe had been ‘stretched to capacity’.
Mr Trendowicz said the cooker was the likely source of the gas leak, which was likely set alight by the ‘ripped out’ capacitor of Mr Howard’s fridge – which had been moved.
Assistant coroner Nathanael Hartley concluded Mr Howard’s death was caused by asphyxia while trapped under rubble, along with the effects of heroin and cocaine use.
A post-mortem examination found Mr Howard had low levels of both drugs and alcohol in his system at the time of his death, which may have led to ‘mild cognitive impairment’.
He had a history of mental health issues, having been diagnosed with PTSD and moderate depression in 2021, as well as a history of substance abuse, first reported in 2012.
Mr Howard’s two daughters, Keely and Lauren Howard, attended the hearing but declined to comment on their father’s mental health or describe him as a person when asked by coroner Hartley.
No notes were recovered from the property during the investigation, the coroner said.
Coroner Hartley said: ‘Having heard the evidence from the fire service about the damaged gas pipe cooker and the evidence that David had informed his friend that he had “pulled the pipes, was going to blow the house up and it was going to go with a bang”, I find that David caused the damage to the gas cooker intentionally.
‘It’s possible that David did not appreciate the dangerousness of the situation. With that in mind, I do not find that David intended to end his life when he did. I find that David’s intentions cannot be established.’
