A severely burned man claims justice has not been served after the boss of a building firm was found not to have broken health and safety laws.

Kyle Roe, then 19, was almost killed in a gas explosion in his flat in 2017 after returning to his newly refurbished home.

Unbeknown to him, the flat in Chippenham, Wiltshire had filled with gas and when he turned a light on it exploded.

Kyle, who suffered 87% burns, is still suffering the physical and mental effects of the blast.

Health and safety officials said the explosion was caused by an uncapped gas pipe behind the wall of another flat.

Building company boss Roderick Standing, 63, was charged with health and safety breaches while the flat was being converted in 2014.

Qualified surveyor Mr Standing’s former company had been hired to to convert the upper storeys of the building into flats.

He was alleged to have failed as in his duty as an employer to conduct refurbishment work in a way that did not expose others to health and safety risks.

But Mr Standing was cleared earlier this week after magistrates said they could not be certain whether builders from his firm had carried out work on the heating system.

Kyle, now 22, said: ‘I am utterly devastated. I have suffered injuries that should have killed me and was only given a per cent chance of survival.

‘I lived but there are days when I wish I had not.

‘There are days I wish I had died’

‘I have to fight every day with the pain and the trauma of what he endured on October 18, 2017. How is this fair?

‘All I ever wanted was for justice and for someone to be held responsible for what happened to me.

‘The true Kyle Roe died in that explosion and what is left is only a part of me – I can’t be who I was or do the things I want to do.

‘There are days I wish I had died.’

Kyle had just returned home from a shift at Morrisons when he flipped the light of his flat on, which sparked this explosion.

He was rushed to Southmead Hospital in Bristol but, due to the severity of his injuries he was taken to a specialist unit in Swansea.

He was put in an induced coma until December 2017, and miraculously pulled through despite being given a 1% chance of survival.

Pictures show his injuries at various stages of his rehabilitation, covered in plaster and in a wheelchair.

He remained in a coma until the middle of December 2017, during which he was given just a one per cent chance of survival.

He has since had 20 skin graft surgeries, physiotherapy sessions, psychological talks and laser treatment.

His mum Tracy, 48, said: ‘This explosion has changed Kyle’s life and ultimately inflicted the most severe injuries which he has for the rest of his life.

‘In addition, the rollercoaster and aftermath of this incident has impacted our entire family and our closest of friends.

‘We have to endure this everyday and see our Kyle in pain.

‘The criminal case had to prove guilty without a doubt to impose the correct sentence and as we heard, sadly, the judge felt the doubt lies with who cut the gas.

‘Our son did nothing wrong and for him, there has been no justice.

‘Those responsible have to live with the fact as a result of the negligence during that renovation.

‘A young, 19-year-old man, son, brother, fiancé and father with his whole life ahead of him – now has to face ongoing pain and agony as a result of his injuries.

‘Justice has not been served.’

Salisbury Magistrates’ Court heard the explosion was caused by an uncapped gas pipe behind the wall of a first floor flat.

But magistrates decided it could not be determined who disconnected the gas supply or left the pipe uncapped.

Mr Standing, of Corsham in Wiltshire, was found not guilty as a result.

The Health and Safety Executive also brought a prosecution against real estate firm Prestige EA Ltd for breaches regarding asbestos in the building.

The company, now liquidated, admitted the charge and was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £3,120 in court costs for failing to obtain the relevant survey.

Kyle’s family are also suing the landlord of his former building for damages in a case they say is ‘ongoing’.

Mr Standing was charged with an offence under sections 3 and 33 of the Health and Safety at Work Act, namely being an employer failed to conduct an undertaking in a way that persons not in his employment who may have been affected thereby were not exposed to risks to their health and safety.

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