Quake damage house 'a bomb site'

The student was hurt when a chimney collapsed into his bedroom

The house where a man suffered a broken pelvis when the earthquake brought a chimney stack crashing through the roof is now "a bomb site" his father said.

Student David Bates, 19, suffered a broken pelvis when he was pinned under masonry in his attic bedroom in Barnsley Road, Wombwell, South Yorks.

His father Paul said the house was "a bomb site, a real mess" after the 5.2 Richter scale quake hit on Wednesday.

"There was a rumble and then we heard a bang and my son screaming 'Dad'."

David Bates was taken to Barnsley General Hospital where he is due to undergo surgery.

A hospital spokesman said David Bates' biggest worry was possibly missing vital Barnsley Football Club matches, including the derby with Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday and the FA Cup quarter final game against Premiership side Chelsea.

Mr Bates senior said the property was uninhabitable.

"I'm just trying to get my head around it as I've not had any sleep.

"We obviously can't live there as it is, and we're waiting for the council to look over it, and for an insurance assessor.

The 44-yearold self-employed fabricator said his wife Vanessa and 14-year-old daughter Ruth were also in the house when the tremors struck.

He had earlier told BBC Radio Sheffield: "I went upstairs and [David] had got this big piece of masonry on his hip.

"I rolled it off and he said 'I think I've broken my pelvis'.

"The police and fire brigade finally came and cordoned it all off.

"I just wanted to get David to hospital because we knew it was bad, he was in pain."

He added: "Look at all the chimneys around here. There are hundreds of them. How come mine had to come crashing through my roof?