British man is blown out of his first floor Spanish flat when a can of bug spray explodes in his hand as he tries to kill a cockroach

Daran Cooper was celebrating his 48th birthday at his flat in Torrevieja

He landed on the street beneath his first-floor flat and suffered serious injury

A British father cheated death when a can of bug spray exploded in his hand, catapulting him through the wall of his first-floor Spanish flat, onto the street five metres below.

Daran Cooper had been preparing a meal to celebrate his 48th birthday on Tuesday when he was distracted by a cockroach that his partner Carmen had been trying to kill with the spray.

Taking the can from Carmen, Daran began spraying the bug, when the explosion happened.

Lucky to be alive: Daran Cooper recovers in hospital after being treated for a broken arm and cuts to his head

Destroyed: Mr Cooper's flat in Torrevieja, with the frame of the balcony wall stripped bare following the explosion

Destroyed: Mr Cooper's flat in Torrevieja, with the frame of the balcony wall stripped bare following the blast

Speaking from Torrevieja Hospital, Daran said: 'I started spraying at the cockroach, and some of the gas must have got into the washing machine.

'A moment later, there was the click of the wash cycle, followed by an almighty bang as I flew through where the wall used to be.

'There was glass and all kinds of stuff in the air, but miraculously I stayed conscious all the time, and all I could think of, was that I had to protect my head.'

The blast totally ripped out the wall of his partially enclosed balcony, but Carmen escaped unscathed, while their five-year-old son Sebastian was tucked up safely in bed.

Daran fell onto the pavement just next to a parked car.

'I’m just glad to be alive,' he added. 'If I’d lost consciousness, I would have died.

'I made sure that my arms and hands took the brunt of the fall, and by sheer luck I was wearing Superman underpants at the time!”

His main injury was a bone that went through his elbow, which needed an operation on Wednesday.

Daran also suffered a broken wrist, bruising and head wounds that required stitches.

Debris: The remains of the wall can be seen strewn across the street beneath the flat

Clear-up: A firefighter inspects the damage to the outside wall of Mr Cooper's apartment

'It was an incredible escape', said Daran’s father Harry.

'The wall and window were taken out and it could have been so much worse for our son.

'The emergency services were excellent and they did everything possible for Daran. We’re just happy that he’s alive! It certainly was nothing to do with him blowing out the candles on his birthday cake!'

Investigators have been at the scene, but so far there has been no official explanation for what caused the explosion.

One of Daran's neighbours, who lives opposite, said: 'I always park my car beneath that window and, luckily, today I left it a bit further away.

'If I hadn't have done so, then my car would have been completely destroyed.'

Investigators initially believed the explosion had been caused by a gas leak, which would have sparked an evacuation of all nearby properties.

But fire crew sources think the insecticide reacted in some way with the man's domestic appliances - a fridge and a washing machine - that were close by.

The fate of the cockroach is unknown.