Man blew up neighbour's Whitburn flat after noise row

Robert Russell's five-year jail term was cut by six months due to his guilty plea

A man who blew up his neighbour's flat in a deliberate gas blast after a noise row has been jailed for five years.

Robert Russell caused the leak which sparked a huge fireball when Bill Mazs turned on his cooker.

The 60-year-old had earlier uncapped a pipe which ended up wrecking the two-storey property in Whitburn, West Lothian, on 8 December 2020.

Mr Mazs was left seriously hurt and suffering from PTSD after managing to escape with his dog.

• Man in hospital after explosion at Whitburn house

The court heard he later died at the age of 56 but his death was not directly linked to the incident.

Russell was sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow having previously pled guilty at a hearing in Livingston to a charge of culpable and reckless conduct.

He had initially faced an accusation of attempted murder.

A judge heard how Russell struggled to understand why he would be sent to jail for what happened.

But, Lord Lake said only a prison term was appropriate for the destruction and harm that he caused.

'Highest degree of recklessness'

He told Russell: "Mr Mazs could have been killed. It is simply good fortune that he was not.

"Anyone deliberately removing a gas fitting shows the highest degree of recklessness.

"It is an obvious danger and shows an utter disregard for the consequences of the actions."

The judge said people were entitled to feel safe in their own homes.

He added: "You have put forward various excuses or alternative versions of events in an attempt to minimise your responsibility.

"The neighbour who you injured so grievously has died - not directly related to the incident.

"But, I have read the eloquent victim impact statements from his family.

"They set out the understandable serious effect on his life and their view that it contributed to his death."

Extensive burns

Russell's jail term was cut by six months due to his guilty plea.

The blast occurred 12 hours after Russell had uncapped the pipe and Mr Mazs switched on his gas cooker to make breakfast.

In the month prior, Russell had complained twice to the local council "about noise nuisance from a neighbour".

The day before the incident, he suddenly claimed he was moving and told the council ignore any apparent concerns.

After the blast the court heard Mr Mazs initially doused himself in the shower before he staggered onto the street with his dog Misty.

Other residents rushed to help him before he was taken to hospital suffering from extensive burns.

Mr Mazs was later diagnosed with PTSD having become a "bag of nerves, constantly in fear" and suffering from flashbacks and nightmares.

Iain McSporran KC, defending, said Russell's "state of mind" had been affected by drug-taking.