Member Article

Blown away

When Joanne and Paul Bray left their son at home during their holiday, they probably never dreamed in a million years that their house wouldn’t be there on their return. But this is exactly what happened, The Times newspaper reports, when 18-year old Stephen’s foray into domesticity resulted in him blowing up the family bungalow. Stephen had innocently placed a plastic washing basket on top of the electric cooker but had accidentally knocked one of the hobs on before leaving the house. The electric ring subsequently set fire to the clothes in the basket, which then set alight a nearby bag of shopping, which caused a can of deodorant to explode, which then blew out the windows and lifted the bungalow roof off. Following £35,000 of damage Mrs Bray said “It’s ironic, Sean didn’t cook anything while we were away— he survived on microwave meals and takeaways.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .