‘Major gas explosion’ destroys house and leaves one man in hospital as police evacuate residents

A man is being treated in hospital after a suspected gas explosion that damaged several homes.

Police were called by the fire brigade at around 10.35pm on Saturday to a report of a massive explosion at a house in Preston, Lancashire.

One man suffered burns from the blast, which caused ‘significant damage’ to the house, and was rushed to hospital for treatment. He has yet to be fired.

Photos show that part of the side of a house is missing and that the windows of nearby houses have been ‘blown out’.

Residents said they thought they had been hit by an ‘earthquake’.

A woman who lived directly behind the property said: ‘I heard the explosion and the house shook.

‘I didn’t know what it was. At first I thought it was an earthquake.

‘We ran out of the house and everyone was hanging out the window to see what was going on. We could smell gas.

‘We are allowed back into the house, but we are not allowed into the back rooms. We are also not allowed to use the gas.

‘We have a window in the backyard that was blown out and our trampoline broke. I can’t imagine how loud it was for the neighbors.”

A man nearby said: ‘I saw a huge flash and heard a huge bang.

‘Our whole house shook from the force. I ran outside and called 999.

“We were evacuated until about 3:30 am. I’ve never seen anything like it before.’

A man who lives directly behind it said: ‘All my pictures on the wall in the back room fell off and all our power went out.

‘The power was unbelievable.

“We were told to leave the building, so we’ve been out for a long time. We can go back in now, but we’re not sure yet if we can stay all day.’

Because the emergency services were on site, a number of surrounding buildings were also evacuated.

A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said: ‘A joint investigation will be launched in due course with our colleagues at Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service to establish the cause and circumstances leading to the suspected gas explosion.’

In a statement, Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service said: ‘Fire engines from Preston, Bamber Bridge and Fulwood, along with the Urban Search and Rescue Team, attended an explosion in Gillett Street, Preston.

“Firefighters monitored the situation and worked with Cadent Gas to make the situation safe.

‘One victim was taken to hospital by the North West Ambulance Service and the fire brigade attended for several hours. The cause of the explosion is under investigation.”