Chewing Gum blows Man's Head Off

A STUDENT blew his head off when he tried to make a Willy Wonka-style long-lasting chewing gum. The home-made sweet EXPLODED in his mouth. Experts believe an ingredient reacted with saliva when the 25-year-old chemistry student tried to blow a bubble. The lad's parents dashed into his room after hearing a "loud pop", police said. They found their son lying dead with his jaw blown away. Sources said the student at Kiev Polytechnic Institute in the Ukraine enjoyed experimenting with food and citric acid. And he wanted to invent a different kind of chewing gum - just like Willie Wonka did in the Roald Dahl books and film for Violet Beauregarde. Forensic experts travelled from Kiev to the victim's home in the northern city of Konotop yesterday to examine his gum. Local cops were too afraid to touch the stuff in case it exploded and blew them up too. One policeman said: "A loud pop was heard from the student's room. When his relatives entered, they saw the lower part of his face blown away. They were absolutely horrified."