A MAN at the centre of police investigations into a gas blast in Canterbury in June has died of his burns in hospital.

Mental health patient Paul Avery, 30, suffered up to 70 per cent burns in the blast at his flat in the city's Tenterden Drive on June 16.

He was under sedation in a specialist burns unit at East Grinstead hospital and his condition continued to be critical until his death on Thursday.

The gas leak which led to the blast originated in Mr Avery's flat at 43b Tenterden Drive, on the ground floor of a block of four flats, which have since been demolished.

A number of people were made homeless by the blast and others had to be temporarily evacuated. Scrutiny of the pipes supplying the property by independent gas safety inspectors showed no faults.

Det Insp Tim Smith, who is overseeing the investigation, said a forensic examination of the scene revealed valuable evidence, but police had not spoken to Mr Avery when he died.

The investigation will continue into whether the gas leak was deliberate or accidental on Mr Avery's part, or originated with a faulty gas appliance in the flat.

Mr Avery had lived alone in the property for about five years. He was a mental health patient who had been treated at St Martin's Hospital and Thanet Mental Health unit at Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother Hospital in Margate.

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