A man has admitted killing a two-year-old boy after causing a massive explosion when he cut the gas pipes in his house. Andrew Partington, 27, an unemployed father of six, let his house in Shaw, Oldham, fill with gas overnight. Next door Jamie Heaton, described by his family as a “happy, loving little boy”, had been watching children’s TV in the lounge, with his father Kenny out at work and mother Michelle doing housework. The explosion “obliterated” Partington’s rented terrace house and two neighbouring homes, with the rest of the row and surrounding streets also left devastated. Shocked neighbours searched the wreckage, finding the youngster’s body in the debris. Partington, who was seriously injured in the incident, appeared at Manchester Crown Court by videolink from jail today. He pleaded guilty to manslaughter and eight charges of destroying neighbouring houses in the blast on Buckley Street, Shaw, Oldham, on June 26.
