A MAN whose home was rendered unsafe by a devastating gas blast is currently living in his garden shed with his two parrots.
Jim Massey, 49, said he would rather stay in his makeshift home and be able to look after his garden than go into temporary accommodation.
He is living in the sparse 10ft by 6ft shed after the blast near his home in Wright Street, Newark.
Grandfather Leslie Rourke, 71, and his daughter-in-law Jeanette, 40, were killed in the May 19 explosion, which destroyed a house in the street.
Jeanette's husband Nick, 42, was critically injured but has since been discharged from hospital.
Mr Massey was one of around 100 people moved out of the area by council and emergency workers in the wake of the blast.
Nearly all have since returned, but a handful including Mr Massey have been told their homes are still not considered structurally safe.
He said: "The council offered me a place, my landlord offered me a place, but I've got so much passion for my home and my garden.
"I can't look after the place if I'm miles away – I just made the decision I wasn't moving anywhere else."
He has set up a bed and camping stove in the shed, and says he sleeps soundly despite the presence of parrots Roxy and Bertie in a cage.
"I'm happier having made the decision." he added.
"I'm grateful for people wanting to give me somewhere else but I'd rather be in somewhere that's my own. I'd be lost without my garden."
He said he expected his house not to be given the all-clear for around another two months while repair work and tests continue.
The only person in the block of six terraced houses where the blast happened to be allowed back in to her home also said she "thanked God" she was not made homeless.
Bar worker and poet Brenda Millhouse, 63, added: "It's a bit strange being the only person here, but I speak to the neighbours on the other side in the next block."
She added: "I thought they would knock my house down but it escaped unscathed.
"It's an awful tragedy – I feel incredibly lucky."
The cause of the blast is still unknown, although the domestic gas supply has been ruled out by the joint Notts Police and Notts Fire and Rescue Service probe.
The blast site has since been levelled and sealed off with fencing.
A Notts Police spokeswoman said: "The investigation into the cause is still ongoing."
No date for when it might be complete was available.
