An 83-year-old man yanked a gas pipe from a wall inside his house causing an explosion in which he was burned. And although his actions had been described as “foolhardy” he was yesterday awarded €72,500 as a judge said Gas Networks Ireland had left “a primed bomb” in the house.

An 83-year-old man suffered extensive burns in a massive blast at his home shortly after he pulled a gas pipe from the wall, it emerged during the opening of his High Court action against Bord Gáis yesterday.

AN ELDERLY man who suffered severe brain injuries and is now effectively blind as a result of being struck by a bus while crossing a busy road in Cork city has secured €300,000 in settlement of High Court proceedings.