Man 'threatened to blow up house' on day of Worksop explosion

A man had been "depressed" and upset by a rent increase and was threatening to blow up his house on the day he died in an explosion, an inquest has heard. David Howard, 53, was found in the rubble of his home in John Street, Worksop, Nottinghamshire, on 12 April 2025. A post-mortem examination found Howard died from asphyxia caused by being trapped under the rubble, but the inquest heard he was communicating with emergency services for up to 90 minutes before he died. A toxicology report showed Howard had low levels of heroin, cocaine and alcohol in his system. The inquest heard he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and struggled with his mental health for several years. Det Con Daniel Akehurst, from Nottinghamshire Police, told the inquest officers had established Howard was in a "depressed mood" and angry after finding out his rent was due to be increased by £80. On the day of the blast, he told several friends he was going to blow the house up, Akehurst said. He read out extracts of an interview officers had carried out with Howard's friend, Shanelle Williams, who said she had spoken to him that afternoon. She said he had told her: "I've done it, I've pulled