Fury over oil blast pay-out delay

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...inshome203.jpg The Edward Lutyens designed house was devastated in the blast

A man who "lost everything" in the Buncefield disaster has attacked moves to reinstate parts of the oil depot before compensation has been paid out.

Ian Silverstein, 38, says he has been "through hell" since his Hertfordshire home was destroyed in the 2005 blast.

Two years on Mr Silverstein still has not received any pay out from the oil company responsible for the depot.

In a statement, HOSL, which owns Buncefield, said it was "progressing all claims as swiftly as possible".

Planning applications have been submitted for works at the site near Hemel Hempstead.

One application, to create a rest stop for truckers 100m from the depot, was rejected on safety grounds.
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/image...efield_203.jpg The Buncefield explosion happened on 11 December 2005



But arguments continue over the fate of Mr Silverstein's five bedroomed home which now lies ruined having been burgled and looted more than 50 times.

The businessman said he had spent three years and more than £350,000 restoring High Grange, designed by Edwin Lutyens in 1911, set in 3 acres just 200 yards from the depot.

Mr Silverstein said: "I lost everything in that explosion; my home, my possessions, my faith in the UK, my entrepreneurial spirit and on a regular basis, the will to carry on.

"Even after two years I haven't received a penny from the people responsible and I'm still affected on a daily basis by the events and trauma of the explosion on 11 December."

The explosion, which occurred after 300 tons of unleaded petrol leaked from a tank at the depot, sent a ceiling crashing down on Mr Silverstein and his girlfriend as they slept in their bed.

Mr Silverstein needed stitches to his head and chest. Oil company Total has already reinstated the depot's underground pipelines to feed aviation fuel from an oil refinery in Humberside to Heathrow.

In a statement HOSL, a joint venture between oil companies Total and Chevron, said: "We have made significant progress overall, with agreement now having been reached to settle approximately 2,400 out of 3,700 formal claims received."