Man admits causing gas explosion in suicide bid

Court told offender was pulled from flat badly burned after he lit fire in his home

The gas blast that rocked Dundee in April was deliberately caused by a troubled man looking to end his life.

The explosion that tore through Park Avenue devastated flats, sent debris tumbling into the street and smoke billowing into the sky.

Emergency services rushed to the scene and as neighbours were evacuated firefighters pulled a badly burned man from his home.

It was initially thought to have resulted from an accidental gas leak, but at Perth Sheriff Court the injured man, Christopher Jones, admitted it had been deliberate.

The 41-year-old accepted that in doing so he had endangered the lives of his immediate neighbours and others living in the street.

He dismantled gas pipes, causing the flat to fill with gas, before setting a large fire in his bedroom. Moments later the gas exploded, tearing through the flat.

The court heard the suicide attempt had come at the end of a month in which he had three times attempted to end it all – on one occasion with a huge heroin overdose.

Days before the blast, gas engineers were called to Park Avenue after neighbours noticed the strong odour of gas in stairwells and their own properties.

A small leak was eventually traced to Jones’ property. It was swiftly repaired and made safe but the discovery is now being seen as preparation for his suicide bid.

The court heard that the same gas engineers made a grisly discovery within the property, with a dead dog found in a pool of blood, in the doorway of his bedroom.

He does not face charges relating to that find and no explanation was given by the Crown during his appearance.

Jones, who has been described as a prisoner at Perth, admitted wilfully setting fire to a bedroom and disconnecting a pipe from the gas main at an address in Park Avenue on April 19 this year, causing an explosion and a fire.

His solicitor will offer a plea in mitigation at a later date but accepted that his client had deliberately caused a gas leak and caused it to explode “with a view to taking his own life”.

David Holmes said Jones had been struggling to come to terms with sight problems.

The charge was one of three the accused pleaded guilty to during his appearance at Perth Sheriff Court.

He also admitted breaking into the Jet garage in Perth’s Edinburgh Road on July 25 last year to steal cigarettes and £325.

The raid was so incompetent that his efforts to force his way into the convenience store saw numerous sleeping residents awakened by repeated loud banging.

A number looked out to catch him in the act, prompting a flurry of calls to the police.

The court heard the entire incident had been caught on CCTV, enabling the business’ owner to identify Jones, who was a former employee and regular customer.

He also left part of his trousers snagged on a barbed wire fence as he made his getaway.

Jones also pleaded guilty to causing his former partner fear and alarm between December 25, 2016 and April 9, 2017.

He repeatedly sent her text messages, made unwanted phonecalls and sent flowers to her home address in Dundee in a doomed effort to rekindle their relationship.

As matters escalated, his obsessive statements of affection became public as he tied “a tarpaulin hammock” to her car bearing the message “I love you”.

Jones will return to the court for sentencing in relation to all three offences later this month.

He attempted to secure bail to an address in Perth, but was remanded in custody to “protect public safety”.

Sheriff William Wood gave no indication of his sentencing options.