A WOMAN re-lived the moment when a "terrible explosion", which led to her partner dying of shock, rocked the kitchen of his home.

William Francis Riley, 70, of St James's Road, Blackburn, suffered burns to his face, ears, and hands in the explosion on May 11, and died at the Royal Preston Hospital on June 2, an inquest heard.

Events leading up to the blast are unclear, but coroner Michael Singleton concluded Mr Riley had turned on the gas grill, but the ignition switch was faulty and it did not light.

A few minutes later he lit a cigarette and the gas, which had mixed with air in the house, exploded. A verdict of accidental death was recorded.

The coroner was told Mr Riley's partner, Ivy Peters, had stayed with him the night before. Mr Riley got up at 7.30am and went downstairs to make a cup of tea. Mrs Peters got up half an hour later. She said Mr Riley, known as Bill, always used the kettle to boil water, and she always cooked the breakfast so he had no reason to use the cooker.

In a statement, Mrs Peters said: "Bill shouted from the kitchen 'what are we having for breakfast?' and I said I'd do some eggs.

"I was in the living room waiting for Bill to come through with the tea when I heard a terrible explosion from the kitchen. I ran out of the house and stood on the pavement and Bill came out of the hallway onto the pavement. It was all very chaotic."

Blackburn fire station officer Aiden Fortune said cigarettes and a lighter were found. He could not be sure how long the gas had been on, but he thought between three and ten minutes. The explosion smashed windows, cracked plasterwork, and dislodged the bathroom floorboards and a door.

His step-sister Christine Riley said she was aware Mr Riley had heart problems, which led him to take early retirement from his job as a paper mill worker.

Pathologist Dr Richard Prescott concluded Mr Riley died of organ failure. Mr Singleton said: "The systemic shock induced by the burns and gas explosion caused his death rather than the burns themselves."