Boiler man bailed in gas-blast probe

Jamie Heaton: tragic tot died in the explosion

A man who inspected the boiler of the house in Shaw at the centre of the gas blast has been bailed following his arrest on suspicion of manslaughter.

The 32-year-old Shaw man was stopped by police in London on Wednesday and taken to Manchester for “robust” questioning before being bailed.

He is believed to have worked on the gas boiler in the rented property on Buckley Street where the massive explosion claimed the life of two-year-old Jamie Heaton, who was watching TV in the house next door.

Andrew Partington (27) was in the blast house and remains in a serious but stable condition in hospital with serious burns.

Greater Manchester Police revealed the arrest is one of “many lines” of the investigation to the cause of the incident, which has rocked the Shaw community and beyond.

Assistant Chief Constable Steve Heywood said: “This is just one single line of our inquiry we are pursuing. At this stage I would not like to speculate any further because that is going to be a significant part of that particular line of inquiry.”

Iltaf Hussain, landlord of No. 9 Buckley Street, where Mr Partington resided, told the Chronicle half an hour after the incident that a “brand new central heating system” had recently been installed in the property.

A nearby Edmund Street resident reported a “smell of gas” to the gas board 35 minutes before the massive blast which ripped through homes, affecting up to 100 properties. Investigations confirmed the explosion was not caused by a gas main leak.