Mum remembers unforgettable husband killed in Avonmouth explosion

Watch: Genevieve Vickery remember her husband Brian.

The wife of a man who was killed when he was thrown more than 100 metres through the air during an explosion in Avonmouth has paid tribute to her husband on the first anniversary of the tragedy.

Brian Vickery, 63, from Clevedon, died while working at a Wessex Water silo in Avonmouth on December 3 last year.

His son, Kyle, worked alongside his father but narrowly avoided being caught up in the tragedy because he had booked annual leave.

A year on from the blast - which killed four people - investigations are ongoing.

Mr Vickery's widow, Genevieve, has spoken to ITV News West Country about how the family has coped in the past year since losing their husband and father.

"He was so funny, hilariously funny," she said.

"He would just say things off the cuff so easily and just everybody would be rolling around laughing. I think that's helped - when I think of him, I don't think of anything bad - just always stupid, funny things. He never grew up."

The couple were married for 43 years and had three sons together - Kyle, Jason and Callum.

Genevieve said she has found adjusting to life without Brian difficult but feels he is "always there".

"I do get really, really lonely," she said. "He was the most needy - literally cuddles all the time. You couldn't do anything without him saying 'oh, you're not going to sit and cuddle me then?'

"Even after 43 years he never waned from that. He told me he loved me 20 to 30 times a day - I used to get annoyed, but now I miss it."

Brian was known as a man who gave his love and support to everyone.

"Once you met him, you'd never forget him," said Genevieve. She said one of his friends told her: "You meet people in life who bring you down, who are down, then you meet someone like Brian who just makes you feel happy when you've seen him."

Brian was well known in Clevedon, he played 5-a-side football in the town and would regularly be seen doing odd jobs at neighbours' and friends houses as well as helping out his sons.

But his job at Wessex Water was one of his main passions in life. He worked for the firm for more than 40 years, having started as a plant operative.

"From the second he got through that gate he was smiling," Genevieve told ITV News.

"He always said when the day came that he didn't want to go into work, he would retire. But that day never came.

"He just loved it; he loved the people he worked with, he loved the job."

She said his Brian's colleagues even looked forward to the tougher jobs, which could take days at a time, if they knew he would be there.

“They knew it was going to be such a laugh because Brian was there so they didn’t mind doing it. That was him - he just was a child with a great heart."

Genevieve said even after the tragic events of December 3, 2020, she finds peace when visiting the place where Brian spent his working life.

On the day of the explosion, it took hours for police to find Brian's body.

Genevieve first heard about the incident when she got a phone call from a friend telling her to switch on the news.

“I was sort of thinking ‘I hope nobody is hurt’ and then I had a phone call from my eldest son, who was really distressed and sort of trying to tell me 'dad was involved'.

“We kept saying 'well maybe he’d gone to Costco' and 'maybe he’s not on site' because they couldn’t find him.

“It was about five hours at least before we heard anything. He was the missing person.

“They told us he flew 129 metres and he landed in the lagoon there, which is amazing considering the site, and the trees, and the bushes - he missed everything and landed in actually a beautiful spot in Avonmouth.

“To me, I find great peace when I go down there.”

She said while the family miss Brian terribly, they feel lucky her son Kyle was not also at work that day.

“It could have been so much worse," she said. "If I’d lost them both, I wouldn’t be able to cope at all.”

There are still difficult times ahead for the family. An investigation remains underway into what caused the blast - but what Genevieve said will be “the biggest thing” will be welcoming their first grandchild into the world.

“We waited many years and it’s going to be ever so hard without him there - but my son said he will tell him every minute of the day what his granddad is like.”