Leeds house pea blast man is cleared
A man accused of damaging property after his Leeds home blew up as he tried to boil some peas has been cleared in court. Harry Foster, 58, escaped the blast, which blew rubble 40m in the air in January last year. Mr Foster was on trial after it was claimed a bent gas pipe at the back of the cooker sparked the blast. Mr Foster had lived at the end-of-terrace house in Middleton Park Road, Middleton, with his parents for 30 years. When his parents died, Mr Foster was supposed to move out – but the council allowed him to stay for two years while they looked for a suitable property. He signed a tenancy agreement and was due to move into a flat on January 13 last year. The explosion happened four days earlier. Both Mr Foster's home and the home next door had to be demolished... Yorkshire Evening Post