Suicidal man jailed for blowing up gas-filled flat after lighting a cigarette

Michael McStay filled his home with gas as part of a plan to commit suicide



Newcastle Crown Court heard he changed his mind and opened the windows to let the gas out



But before the gas cleared he lit a cigarette, blowing up his second floor flat

McStay suffered burns over 65% of his body and was hospitalised for a year

A court heard his neighbours were lucky to escape the blast alive

McStay has been jailed for 27 months for arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered



Jailed: Michael McStay, 39, has been jailed for 27 months for arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered

A suicidal man who blew up his second-floor flat has been jailed for arson after a court heard his neighbours were lucky to escape the blast alive.



Michael McStay, 39, filled his home up with gas with the intention of committing suicide but then changed his mind and opened the windows to let the fumes out.

But before all the gas had escaped, McStay lit a cigarette, sparking an explosion which blew the roof off his upstairs flat and causing £270,000 of damage.



He suffered catastrophic burns all over his body, spent three months in a coma, 12 months in hospital and has had 30 operations to date.

Newcastle Crown Court heard how residents living in the flat beneath McStay were fortunate not to be killed in the huge explosion.



McStay has now been jailed for 27 months after pleading guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered .

Sentencing him, Judge Jeremy Freedman said: 'It was your intention to take your own life but you thought better of it and you opened the window and somewhat naively believed the gas would then escape.



'What you then did, as an act of folly, is light a cigarette and the inevitable happened. There was what can only be described as a massive explosion.



'There could have been three fatalities here. Your downstairs neighbour, his son and you were lucky to escape alive.'



The father and son living in the downstairs flat on Sceptre Street, Elswick, Newcastle, were woken by a huge bang in the early hours of the morning in September 2011.



They ran into the back garden and discovered a scene of destruction.

Explosion: A court heard McStay filled his home with gas before blowing it up, causing £270,000 of damage, pictured above. McStay claims he changed his mind after releasing the gas and had opened the windows but then lit a cigarette before it had all cleared which sparked the explosion



Michael Bunch, prosecuting, said: 'They could see flaming items falling in the yard, which was full of bricks and rubble.

'When they looked up they could see the roof and wall from the defendant’s flat had been blown off.



'The defendant was crouching down in the area where his kitchen had been.



'He shouted: "I’ve blown myself up", and had suffered horrific burns.'



McStay suffered burns over 65 per cent of his body and was a hospital in-patient for a year. He has been left horribly scarred.



Dangerous: Newcastle Crown Court heard how residents living in the flat beneath McStay were lucky to escape the blast alive

The court heard the flat downstairs and properties to the side in the terraced block were damaged in the explosion and the total repair bill was £270,000.

McStay, of The Hawthorns, Elswick, Newcastle, who has convictions for 27 previous offences, pleaded guilty to arson being reckless as to whether life was endangered.



Paul Caulfield, defending, said: 'The explosion for him has been catastrophic.



'He was in a coma for three months, his heart stopped three times and he has had 30 operations, with more to come.



'His hands are clawed and virtually useless, his feet are extremely badly damaged and he is on heavy pain killers and has not slept properly for two years. He has served the equivalent of a two year prison sentence during his time in hospital.'

