AISHA Examentrainer

Tekst bij de Opgave

BANG!

1 Ronald Cox hoped cleaning up the glue he spilled on the kitchen floor would be a relatively simple job. His local hardware store recommended Cillit Bang, the all-purpose cleaner which according to the TV commercials - has almost miraculous powers.

2 But after 75-year-old Mr Cox applied it to his floor tiles, he found the product wasn't quite having the desired effect. So to finish off the task, he used an eggcup full of petrol on the stains.

3 This turned out to be a mistake 13 the cocktail of fluids gave off vapours which were then ignited by the pilot light in his living room boiler. The ensuing explosion ripped through the semi-detached property, blowing out one of the front windows, bringing down part of the kitchen ceiling and causing structural damage to an inside wall.

4 14, Mr Cox, still in the kitchen, was unhurt by the explosion. Indeed, because he is partially deaf, he wasn't even aware of the magnitude of the blast until neighbour Dave Micheson rushed around and extinguished a fire that had started in the living room. Mr Micheson said: "We just heard an almighty bang." He found Mr Cox standing shocked but unhurt in the kitchen. He called the fire brigade and officers were swiftly on the scene to check that the house was safe. Mr Cox, who suffers from angina, was given oxygen before being taken to hospital as a precaution. Following Friday's drama he has now returned home to survey the damage to the property in Scunthorpe. "I am 15 there was nobody else in the house," the pensioner said yesterday.

5 Vowing never to use fuel again as a cleaner, he added: "I only had an eggcup full of petrol." Fireman Stuart Spence said: "The explosion has totally devastated his house he is a very lucky man to survive this. The advice is very simple the place for petrol is outside in motor vehicles. There are many products available which 16 so nobody should ever try to use petrol as a cleaner."