http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... 30mph.htmlQuote:
A motorist has vowed not to go green again after having a lucky escape when his LPG-powered car exploded in a fireball.
Company manager Peter Tidbury, 50, escaped with hardly a scratch after he lit a cigarette and a blast blew out the windows and door panels of his Peugeot 607.
The windscreen was blown 50 feet down the road and nearby householders were evacuated for fear of another explosion.
Peter, 56, suffered minor burns but was behind his office desk 24 hours later. He said yesterday : 'It just wasn't my day to die.'
Mr Tidbury who works for an energy-saving company in London bought the car privately on October 3 for below £5,000 and had it thoroughly checked over twice by a garage before getting behind the wheel.
He said: 'I changed to LPG because it is a lot cheaper and as well as money saving is a lot greener than petrol. I work in the energy saving field and we all have to be more environmentally conscious these days.
'I wanted a reasonably priced luxury motor which had been LPG converted and this seemed to fit the bill. I was won over on environmental and cost grounds and saw it as a pilot to possibly get more for the company.
'I thought it was a sensible option. I was a bit wary having bought it privately so had it checked over twice by mechanics and it was given a clean bill of health.'
Widower Peter first drove the car last weekend and visited his daughter in Gainsborough before driving to Sheffield and then Barnsley to see friends.
He viewed a website to see where he could fill up with LPG and found a filling station in Monk Bretton, Barnsley where he put in 40 litres of gas.
He said: 'I was told you get a slight smell of gas when you fill up so thought nothing of it and wound the window down to freshen the air and put it back up again.
'I fancied a fag so wound the window down again slightly and then lit up.
'I was doing about 30 mph and as I lit the cigarette there was an almighty explosion. The windows went out, the bonnet went up and the boot went up just as you see in the Hollywood movies.
'I was belted in and braked sharply. I can't remember this but I was told that I was directing traffic around the car whilst my suit jacket was still smoking.
'The fireball singed me on my face, hands and legs and melted my jacket lining and some of my shirt. I looked as if a firework had exploded in my face.' The car exploded just feet away from some houses.
Mr Tidbury, who lives in south-east London, was treated for the flash burns at Barnsley District Hospital then discharged.
He added: 'I have been on training course when I worked as a miner about dealing with gas and have an understanding of how explosions take place but when I walked past that car to get in the ambulance I thought that was not survivable.
'For me it is miraculous. It was not my day to die. I firmly believe that the hand of God was on me that day.' It is thought a leak in the pipe from the filler to the petrol tank allowed gas to seep into the car which ignited when Peter lit up.
Firefighters believe the car's seats took the force of the explosion.
An elderly woman living near the scene saw flames coming from the car and had her home shaken. She said: 'It was very frightening.' Fire station watch manager Neil McQuillan said: 'The car looked like a hand grenade had gone off in it.
'How anyone can survive an explosion like that when the car is severely damaged is remarkable really.' Peter is now looking for another car but will not be going green again.
He said: 'It won't stop me getting into an LPG car again as a passenger but I don't want to tempt fate twice. I'm now hoping to get a large BMW diesel.
'Every single person who saw the accident could not understand how I was still alive and talking to them.
'My immediate thought after the accident was also to quit smoking. I've tried before but have now set myself a target to quit by Christmas.'
poor bugger!
I wonder where his rear windscreen landed?

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Speed limit sign radio interview. TV
Snap Unhappy“It has never been the rule in this country – I hope it never will be - that suspected criminal offences must automatically be the subject of prosecution” He added that there should be a prosecution: “wherever it appears that the offence or the circumstances of its commission is or are of such a character that a prosecution in respect thereof is required in the public interest”
This approach has been endorsed by Attorney General ever since 1951. CPS Code