Scale of destruction revealed in horror photos after huge gas explosion in sleepy village leaves three injured
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This was the scene of devastation after a gas explosion that left three elderly residents badly injured.
The blast went off in a semi-detached house in Birstall, Leicestershire, at 7.30am.
The owner, who has not been named, was pulled alive from under the collapsed staircase .
Neighbour Janet Jasper, 79, was injured when the bedroom wall collapsed on her as she slept.
Her husband John, 80, who had been downstairs, is also in hospital.
Resident Tony Timson, 66, said: “The damage was catastrophic.”
(Image: SWNS.com)
(Image: SWNS.com)
(Image: SWNS.com)
(Image: PA)
The homeowner pulled from the staircase was found unconscious after the blast rocked the quiet, snowy village of Birstall, Leicestershire, this morning.
He was discovered with severe cuts to his head and a "flight of stairs on top of him" - but was still breathing, witness John Ketteringham claimed.
Next door's bedroom was also ripped apart in the explosion, while a woman living opposite saw her own bedroom windows "blow in".
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(Image: EMAS / SWNS.com)
(Image: PA)
(Image: PA)
Nearly 100 properties were left without electricity after engineers disconnected the mains for safety reasons.
Mr Ketteringham, 31, who lives nearby and was one of the first on the scene, described how the pensioner was discovered in the rubble.
He told the Leicester Mercury : “We found one old chap buried in the rubble. He had bad head lacerations, and was unconscious, with a flight of stairs on top of him, but he was still breathing.
(Image: Leicester Mercury)
"He had a flight of stairs on top of him, but was breathing"
“It looks like it was a gas explosion. I was woken up by the bang and pulled my clothes on and ran to do what I could to help."
He added: “There was a young boy who had just delivered the paper to the house that exploded. It was really lucky he wasn’t hurt.
“The explosion threw bits of wood into the windows of the houses opposite, and all the cars have smashed windows.”
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Margaret Burt, who lives opposite the house that was destroyed, recalled how she was in bed when she heard a "terrific bang".
She told the Mercury: "My bedroom windows blew in. It was terrifying. The whole house was gone.
“It’s just a pile of rubble and next door lost a bedroom.”
Police, paramedics and firefighters were sent to the scene after reports of the "bang" - which has since been confirmed as a gas explosion.
Les Apse, who lives behind the house that blew up, claimed there was "talk yesterday of a smell of gas in the air".
(Image: Tom Mack/Leicester Mercury)
He also said: “The blast of the explosion pushed all my windows in at the back and woke us up. I thought our boiler had exploded.
"Then there was the sound of things smashing into our roof.
“The wife started screaming and crying. There were tiles and bits of glass and window all over the street.”
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Sarah Orton, 47, who lives a few doors down from the house, claimed there were two explosions before its roof "lit up red and orange".
She recalled: “I’d just left for work, and was a few doors away.
“There were two explosions. The first sounded like a firework, but it was a massive blast and I felt it push the back of my head.
“I turned around and saw the second explosion. The roof just lit up red and orange and things flew everywhere.
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(Image: Chris Gordon/Leicester Mercury)
“I’m just in shock. I can’t believe what I’ve seen. There’s stuff all over the road. Our doors were blown in, and our windows too.”
Another local, Liam Owen, was delivering a newspaper to the opposite house, when the blast went off.
"I was delivering the paper to the house opposite and a few doors up. It felt like someone pushed me in the back," he said. “I thought, ‘What was that?’
“There was a flash of light and bits were flying through the air.
"I’ve never experienced anything like it.
“I didn’t know if there might be any more explosions, so I didn’t want to go too close. I called 999.
(Image: Leicester Mercury/BPM MEDIA)
“Right now I’m just not really thinking about it.
"If I’d been a bit earlier I could have been hurt.”
Neighbours reported seeing and hearing debris - including glass and window frames - being flung in all directions following the explosion.
Carol Cooke, 46, who lives nearby, said she awoke to an “almighty bang” before hearing emergency crews racing to the scene.
She added: “Hearing the bang was not nice. It was very scary. It’s very shocking news, we are praying for the families involved.”
The fire service said it had received “multiple calls” about the incident.
Crews at the scene included three fire engines from Leicester stations, one from Birstall, a technical rescue team from Leicester and the command support vehicle from Shepshed station.
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In a statement, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the semi-detached property had been involved in a gas explosion.
It said the main house had collapsed, while the neighbouring property had partially collapsed. Six other properties were partially affected.
The service said there was no fire reported and there is no smell of gas at this time. Full evacuation of surrounding homes has been carried out.
"It was terrifying... the whole house was gone"
Leicestershire Police also issued a statement on the incident.
It said earlier: “Officers are at an address in Allington Drive, Birstall, at 7.33am this morning following reports of a loud bang and house being damaged.
“Police, along with the fire and ambulance service, are at the scene. Investigations in to the cause of the damage are in their very early stages.
(Image: Leicester Mercury)
“Allington Drive is currently closed and is likely to remain so for a number of hours while inquiries are carried out.
“Two people are injured and are being attended to by paramedics. The nature of their injuries is not known at this time.
“A number of houses in the street have been evacuated as a precaution.”
Local Sarah Carr said she and her pals heard a loud bang, but initially believed it was snow falling off a building.
“It’s just a pile of rubble and next door lost a bedroom"
The bang was also apparently heard by motorists and pedestrians at least an eight-minute drive away from the scene of the blast.
Some speculated whether the area may have been hit by an earthquake.
However, it was later confirmed it was a gas explosion.
A motorist driving in the area described hearing a "sort of dull thud in the distance" that was also noticed by pedestrians.
They said: “I was just passing the road where you turn off to get to the space centre when I heard a bang, a sort of dull thud in the distance.
"My son who was in the passenger seat asked what it was.
"A woman and a young girl crossing at traffic lights in front of us also turned round when they heard it. It was about 7.30am.”
Meanwhile, David Voce, 50, revealed how he thought his own house was falling down after hearing a bang.
He said: “I jumped out of bed when I heard the bang.
"It was incredibly loud. I thought my house was falling down. There was no fire, just an explosion. There have been loads of ambulances."
And Muriel Robertson, 75, recalled: “We just heard an almighty bang. There’s quite a few houses damaged.
"I was asleep and I was woken up by the noise.”
(Image: Leicester Mercury)
Western Power Distributon, which has engineers on site, said just under 100 homes in the area would be without power for the morning.
A spokesman said after the explosion: “We have had to disconnect the electricity mains for safety reasons, which means there are about 95 properties in the area which will be without power for the rest of the morning.”
Minibuses provided by Charnwood Borough Council were seen taking people evacuated from their homes to locations nearby.
Roy Rollings, Charnwood Borough Council councillor for Birstall Wanlip, said: "We are aware of a large explosion at a property in Birstall.
"Our first thoughts are with all those involved. @CharnwoodBC emergency plans are being put into place to help all involved."
Charnwood Borough Council said: "We're aware of the incident in Birstall and supporting the emergency services.
"We will be ensuring residents' welfare is looked after and have officers on the scene, including from our building control team."
Gas network company Cadent told the Mercury it was “too early to speculate on the cause” of the explosion.
A spokesperson said: “Earlier this morning we were called to attend an incident in Allington Drive, Birstall, Leicester.
“We are currently on site and our priority at this time is to make safe and we are working with the emergency services to achieve this.
“It’s too early to speculate on the cause at this time.”