Blast at house 'just like the blitz'

Joan and Dennis Nancarrow's terraced home was condemned after a suspected gas explosion ripped through the house next door, on the corner of Burns Street and Scott Street, Nelson, on Saturday morning.

Today they revealed that their home was not insured and they have been forced to move in with their family in Barrowford.

The suspected gas explosion destroyed the end house in the street, which was divided into two flats, and badly damaged the Nancarrows' home.

A man from the first floor flats was taken to Burnley General Hospital and later transferred to the burns unit at Preston Royal Infirmary, where he has been detained.

Thomas Root, an elderly disabled man living in the downstairs flat, was rescued and treated for minor injuries after he became trapped in his wheelchair.

He had been in a rear lean-to part of the building when the explosion, believed to have occurred when a resident lit a cigarette, ripped through his home and the roof fell on top of him.

Mrs Nancarrow, 70, was rescued from her bed by firefighters after becoming trapped under fallen debris.

Mr Nancarrow, 75, had been out walking their dog Susie at the time and returned to find a gaping hole in his bedroom wall. After being treated for minor injuries at Burnley General Hospital, Mrs Nancarrow was released yesterday.

Dennis said: "I had just taken the dog for its daily walk when I met a friend in the street.

"She said have you heard the news. I just couldn't believe it. I ran back to the house, but by the time I got back the police were there and wouldn't let me in.

"I cried out for my wife -- apparently the firefighters didn't know she was in the building. When they found her she was buried under a foot of bricks and mortar."

"My wife said she was sound asleep but her dreams turned into our worst nightmare. She said it was the loudest wake-up call she'd ever had in her life -- as loud as a World War Two bomber.

"I was an undertaker during the Blitz and escaped every bomb dropped. You could say I've got the knack of avoiding explosions"

Daughter, Denise Jones, said: "My mum's legs are badly bruised from where they were trapped, but she is okay.

"At the moment my father and the dog are staying with us in Barrowford and my mum is at my daughter's."

Assistant divisional officer Dave Allan, of Lancashire Fire and Rescue, said looking at the extent of the devastation caused to the corner house and the property next door, it was a miracle no-one had died.

Lily Wheatley, lives across the road from Mr and Mrs Nancarrow and has known them for six years.

She said: "I heard a loud bang and the first thing I thought was that it was a car backfiring. I lifted the curtain in my bedroom and saw the wall of the end house falling in to the street. I couldn't believe it. I was in shock all day.

"My windows are all right but the frames will need replacing. I feel really sorry for Joan though after losing her house. She used to be my boss at Oxfam in Scotland Road. I have taken some of her furniture and pots and pans in because her family didn't know where to put them all."

Police evacuated everyone from their homes in Burns Street as a safety precaution but they were allowed back in to their houses after lunch.

Bobby Sethi was evacuated from his house shortly after the explosion.

He said: "It was like a bomb exploded. Everyone just panicked. It was mayhem to begin with. The people were very lucky they weren't badly injured that was my main concern.

"The explosion was that bad it shook the house. I ran downstairs and looked out of the window. There was rubble all down the street and the window in the house across had shattered. I could smell a strong gas smell when I went outside.

"The police moved us all out of the area and told us to go to Morrisons and they kept us informed."

Anne Kellegher, another resident who was evacuated, said: "I heard the bang and it sounded like a bomb had gone off. I was in bed at the time. I came out and saw a man jump from a window of the house. I think he burned his hands.

"My house is okay but the windows blew out in the house opposite mine."

Clifford Green, of Chatham Street, which runs parallel to Burns Street, said: "I saw the lady from the house next door being taken to hospital and I believe her husband went down as well. They've lived there a long time.

"I'd just come back from getting a newspaper when the explosion happened. I was lucky because I'd just got back in the house. Minutes earlier had walked right past that house."

Investigations in to the cause of the explosion have now been take over by the local authority and the Health and Safety Executive.