Council sat on a fortune
The ignited battery Darren’s clothes AN electronic cigarette exploded “like a firework” in a dad’s pocket, leaving him unable to walk.
Gas fitting boss Darren Wilson, 37, suffered burns to his groin and left leg, and is in such agony he still has to take morphine each time he has a shower.
He was decorating his home when the e-cig burnt through his work trousers and underwear, scorching his groin and left leg.
He said: “I thought someone had thrown a firework. My pocket was going off like a banger, fizzing and sparking with smoke coming out. I tried to get it out but it burnt through.
“I can’t walk. They need to redress it every eight hours.”
Darren’s colleagues, who were helping him decorate his home in Kirkby, Merseyside, rushed him to hospital after his ordeal last Friday.
The dad-of-three was given a skin graft at the major burns unit in Whiston Hospital. He said the e-cig had recently had new batteries fitted.
Darren started using e-cigs after he quit smoking six months ago. He said: “I thought it would be better for me –more fool me.”
Partner Claire Mulhearn said: “I told him, ‘You’re a gas engineer, you’ve never had any burns and you get blown up by an e-cig.” With partner Claire Darren’s blistered left leg COUNCIL bosses sold off dozens of chairs for £100 each on eBay only to find they were worth a fortune.
The seats, off-loaded to turn a council chamber into a wedding venue, now sell for up to £7,500 a pair.
Bosses wanted chairs which were easier to move than the leather seats.
Independent councillor Kevin Nicholson said: “Officers have clearly not seen these items’ value.”
Darlington council said they were sold on an independent valuer’s advice.