Man in hospital after gas explosion in UK city damaged several homes

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

Police were called by the fire services to a report of a gas explosion at a home in Preston, Lancashire, at around 10.35pm on Saturday (2nd November).

One man suffered burn injuries in the explosion – which caused “significant damage” to the house – and was taken to hospital for treatment. He has yet to be discharged.

Photos show part of the side of a home is missing and the windows of nearby homes were “blown out”.

Residents said they thought they had been hit by an “earthquake”.

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

“I didn’t know what it was. I thought it was an earthquake at first.

“We ran out of the house and everyone was hanging out of their windows to see what was going on. We could smell gas.

“We’ve been allowed back into the house but we can’t go into the back rooms. We also can’t use the gas.

“We have a window in the back garden that was blown out and our trampoline was broken. I can’t imagine how loud it was for the neighbours.”

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

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

“We were evacuated until about 3.30am. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

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

“The force was incredible.

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

A number of surrounding properties were also evacuated as emergency services worked at the scene.

A spokesman for Lancashire Police said: “A joint investigation will be launched in due course with our colleagues from the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service to establish the cause and circumstances that led to the suspected gas explosion.”