Active Patriot@ActivePatriotUK
🚨 Everyone has their limits and breaking point
A Nottinghamshire man blew up his house after his rent was increased by £80 😔
David Howard warned multiple friends he was going to blow his house up after his rent was increased by £80. The 53-year-old had lived at 26 John Street in Worksop for 11 years when he caused a fatal explosion - which resulted in his and his dog's death - on April 12, 2025.
On the same day, he had received a letter from his landlord, Sarah Reilly, to inform him his monthly rent, which was mostly paid by Bassetlaw District Council, was going to go up by £80 to £540. At about 3pm, he began telling a number of friends that he was going to "blow the house up", saying "you wait until the end of the day", an inquest into Mr Howard's death was told on Monday, March 30.
One of his friend's accounts of the events on April 12 was detailed by DC Daniel Akehurst during the proceedings. Shanelle Williams told officers Mr Howard had told her on the day that he was "p****d off and could not cope anymore" due to his rent going up.
Ms Williams described Mr Howard as "in a mood and depressed". The woman was then called by Mr Howard at around 3pm, when he told her "he had pulled the pipes" and made comments about "blowing up the house".
In another call at 3.29pm, Mr Howard told Ms Williams "I’ve done it, I’ve pulled the pipes off the gas. It’s going to go with a bang." The latter call lasted 42 seconds and was ended by Mr Howard before Ms Williams could say anything. Before this, Mr Howard had told friends he had been up for three days with no sleep and was "very upset" about the rent increase".
A friend tried to give him advice but he wasn’t listening, with Mr Howard saying, "you watch, you wait until the end of the day" and "you wait to see what happens". The inquest was told Mr Howard had made similar comments before April 12.
Around 3pm, Mr Howard locked the doors to the property he was renting after two of his friends left to go to a shop, which was described as "strange". Upon returning, the two friends were told by Mr Howard to "go, I don’t want anyone else to get hurt. Please just go".
Asked by his friends if they could at least take his dog, Roxy, Mr Howard said: "Roxy is staying with me." The hearing wasn't told any of the friends made any attempts to notify emergency services of the events.
