Man tells friend he is ‘going out with a bang’ after landlord raises rent. Then he blows up his home while still inside

An inquest into an explosion that happened in a town in the U.K. last year has revealed some rather shocking facts. In April 2025, the body of 53-year-old David Howard was pulled from the rubble of his home after the building exploded. It was soon discovered that the catastrophe was possibly intentional.

The inquest which concluded this week discovered that the “most probable cause” of the almighty explosion was an electrical spark from the fridge freezer according to Watch manager Christopher Trendowicz. The spark may have ignited fumes which had leaked from a cookers gas pipe which had been “stretched to the point where it would fail,” as per BBC News. It was also established that Howard died from asphyxiation after becoming trapped underneath the rubble of his former home.

The blast occurred around 7:40 on April 12, 2025 and caused damage to the neighboring properties as well. Many residents in the neighborhood were instantly alerted by the loud explosion and went to investigate. One man by the name of Jonathan Hodson described the moment it all happened, “Fence panels were rattling and the windows were shaking.” 

Howard, who was a father, reportedly spoke with emergency services for 90 minutes before ultimately passing away. His dog was also killed in the blast.

Why did David Howard do it?

Prior to the incident Howard had expressed anger over the fact that his landlord was raising his rent by £80 (around $100) a month. He had reportedly told people close to him that he was going to blow the property up. On the day of the explosion he spoke with friend Shanelle Williams at around 3:30pm. According to police, the phone call lasted 42 seconds, during which Howard told his friend, “I’ve done it, I’ve pulled the pipes off the gas. It’s going to go with a bang.”

As well as the anger regarding his rent increase, the assistant coroner, Nathanael Hartley, explained that the level of intoxicants in the man’s blood may well have led to “mild, cognitive impairment,” which may have affected his ability to think rationally. Howard was found to have low levels of heroin, cocaine, and alcohol in his system at the time of his death.

Howard had reportedly struggled with his mental health for many years but Hartley claims, “It is possible he did not appreciate the dangerousness of the situation.” Considering the level of intoxication the inquest determined that David Howard likely did not intend to end his own life with the explosion.