RESIDENTS fear they will never get the real answers to an explosion which reduced a block of flats to rubble and left them homeless.

An inquest into the death of Guido Schuette, who was killed in the blast at Gibbs Crescent on Valentines Day last year, yesterday ruled it was probably an accident but could not rule out it was deliberate.

Oxford Coroner’s Court heard the explosion was probably caused by petrol fumes igniting in Mr Schuette’s flat – number five on the city centre road.

The property was full of car parts and in the weeks prior, the 46-year-old had been seen buying 80 litres of fuel which was stored in jerrycans in the building.

After hearing evidence for a day, Oxfordshire Coroner Darren Salter recorded a 'narrative conclusion'.

He stated that although the Valentines Day explosion was probably not deliberate, he could not rule this out due to threats previously made by Mr Schuette. 

The court heard how Mr Schuette had acted strangely in the run up to the explosion, including saying he would ‘blow the place up’.

He repeatedly clashed with neighbours over noise complaints and was seen spraying a substance on his four cars which he kept outside.

Police and mental health doctors attended his address early in the morning of February 10, the day after neighbour Darren Vernon described helping him carry large jerrycans full of petrol up the stairs. 

Mr Schuette was reported as ‘shouting and banging’ and yelling about his ‘master in flat number seven’, the address of Annie May, with whom he had had a long running dispute. 

Officers who attended the scene reported Mr Schuette was acting ‘aggressively and erratically’ and had to restrain him with handcuffs for up to five hours. 

Despite this Janet Patterson, a consultant psychiatrist who assessed the case said she did not believe he had a psychotic illness. 

She told the court: “I had the impression he was a difficult character who had a way of doing things and who did not get on with people but I do not feel he was suffering from severe mental health problems.”

Ms Patterson added that she felt the threats to start fires were akin to ‘playground threats’ that Mr Schuette had no intention of following through. 

Following the incident Mr Schuette was visited by mental health professionals again on February 11 and they spoke to him on the phone on February 12 before he hung up on them. 

The German national was described as a ‘hoarder’ whose flat was ‘more like a workshop than a place of residence’. 

The car-lover kept dozens of spare parts in the building and it is thought this may have contributed to the deadly explosion. 

Bob Speakman, a Station Manager for Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue, said he thought the blaze was caused by petrol vapours released during the cleaning of the parts and sparked by either a lighter or a homemade device. 

This device was found close to the body and contained wires, crocodile clips and an unknown object covered in tin foil. 

It is thought Mr Schuette used it to test electrical parts, rather than for a more 'sinister motive', DS David Whittle, of Thames Valley Police said at the hearing.

Mr Speakman said he felt it was unlikely the explosion was caused deliberately because lids were re-attached on three of the four 20l jerry cans found on the site and one was left full.

It is also believed Mr Schuette knew his neighbours in flats three and seven would be out at the time which allowed officers to hypothesise he was not trying to intentionally harm them. 

A2 Dominion, who are responsible for the flats, said they had no knowledge Mr Schuette was storing fuel in the apartment and that none of its staff had attended the flat for 'quite some time' due to Mr Schuette's aggressive behaviour previously.

Reading the ‘narrative conclusion’, Mr Salter said: “The explosion is likely to be accidental in nature but he was heard to say he was going to cause an explosion about five days before and it cannot be ruled out that it was caused deliberately.”

The cause of death was recorded as ‘burns and injuries consistent with an explosion’.

Mr Salter added that he hoped Gibbs Crescent residents may be able to get some ‘closure’ from the conclusion of the formal process. 

But speaking following the hearing Annie May said she was ‘tearful’ and ‘disappointed’ and felt key questions had gone unanswered. 

And current Gibbs Crescent resident Jessica Leaf wanted to know why Mr Schuette was allowed to keep fuel and car parts in his flat. 

She added: “That was highly dangerous and against all the agreements.