A man has been found guilty of causing a massive explosion in a botched insurance job.

Pascal Blasio, of William Street, Rainham, had denied deliberately causing a gas explosion at a furniture shop in New Ferry, Wirral, in March 2017.

The explosion caused damage to 63 properties and left 81 people injured.

A jury at Liverpool Crown Court found the 57-year-old guilty of causing an explosion likely to endanger life, plus another charge of fraud in relation to an insurance claim which was made after the blast.

At the original hearing in January, a jury failed to reach verdicts following a four-week trial.

Blasio, the owner and director of Homes in Style, denied the offences but was convicted yesterday (Monday, October 14).

A 21-year-old man who was sat at a bus stop outside the shop was the worst injured; he suffered multiple fractures, a serious brain injury and injuries to his lungs and kidney.

Merseyside Police assistant chief constable Natalie Perichine said: “The actions of Pascal Blasio that night were nothing short of reckless. It is only by sheer luck that nobody was killed because of his actions.

“More than two-and-a-half years on, dozens of people are still continuing to recover from the physical and mental scars they suffered that night and many people have still not been able to return to their homes and businesses.

"New Ferry has, in effect, been left to pick up the pieces of Blasio’s actions."

Local council leader Cllr Pat Hackett said: "For many of those affected by the explosion on March 25, 2017 this verdict will bring the curtain down on one of the most traumatic effects of the incident.

"Ever since that night, the questions 'how did this happen?' and 'who was responsible?' have cast a shadow over residents and business owners and in many cases served as an obstacle to their ability to recover, rebuild and move on."

Blasio is due to be sentenced on Wednesday, October 23. He has been remanded in custody until then.

At a previous hearing the company which supplied the gas to the property, Contract Natural Gas (CNG), pleaded guilty to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

CNG was fined a total of £320,000 and ordered to pay £50,000 towards the prosecution costs.

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