Boiler ‘needed repair’ at fatal gas blast house
THE house where a grandmother died in a massive gas explosion was being advertised for sale with a boiler that needed repairing or replacing.
The detail was contained in an online listing for the property in Dulwich Road, Kingstanding, which was destroyed in the blast on Sunday night, June 26.
Doreen Rees-Bibb, aged 79, was killed and a man injured in the tragedy. He was in a critical but stable condition this week.
An online listing showed the three-bedroom house for sale with estate agent Paul Carr. It was also listed on website On The Market, where the boiler issue was highlighted.
In bold letters, it read: “Boiler requires repair/replacement.” The Post contacted Paul Carr but the estate agents refused to comment “at this time”.
When asked about the boiler, Chief Insp Kelly Monaghan, of West Midlands Police, said: “That may form part of the investigation. We have colleagues and professionals who will be looking at all of the different circumstances.”
Gas company Cadent confirmed that gas mains and service pipes in the area were not the cause of the explosion.
Elliott Nelson, Cadent’s network director, said in a statement: “Our thoughts are with the family and friends of those impacted and everyone in this close-knit community. Since the incident, our engineers have been on site working with the emergency services.”