Ex-licensee finally wins payout for destroyed pub

A former licensee has finally received £20,000 compensation from a company's liquidators five years after his pub was destroyed by a gas explosion.

Nils Hughes, formerly licensee at the Kings Arms, in Monkton Farleigh, Wiltshire, was forced to sell his business after kitchen equipment blew up and injured two members of staff in October 2000.

Initially Ken Wheeler Catering Equipment Ltd, which had carried out repairs to a grill days before the accident, refused to admit liability.

But the company, along with two sister companies, subsequently went into liquidation and liquidators Bishop Fleming agreed to pay out for the incident.

"It's a triumph and I'm delighted," said Mr Hughes, who is now a sales director for a plastic company. "After all this time it's a vindication of everything we were fighting for."

Bishop Fleming had agreed £48,000 damages, but because the companies were in liquidation were only able to give Mr Hughes £20,000 as a dividend.

He added he was hoping his insurers Natwest would look again at his situation after refusing cover on the basis it was third-party negligence.

Before the explosion Mr Hughes had won several awards for his pub's food in his first year of trading and was aiming to be awarded a Michelin Star.

"I'd love to open another pub or restaurant," he said. "But at the moment I have to pay off all my creditors."