Preston house explosion: Neighbours relive horror moment blast tore through house 'like a bomb'

Neighbours have described the horror moment a home was destroyed in a huge blast

Emergency services raced to the scene in Gillett Street in at around 10.35pm on Saturday night after a suspected explosion. The blast, which is believed to have happened in the rear room downstairs, tore through the terraced house and destroyed most of the back of the property. A man, who is thought to live alone at the house, was rushed to with burn injuries.

People in neighbouring homes were also forced to evacuate. Janet Wilson, who was visiting her mother's house on the street, said she had just taken a cup of tea up to bed when she heard the explosion. At first, she thought a "bomb had gone off".

READ MORE:

She told : "I thought a bomb had gone off. We've had a lot of fireworks lately but I knew it was too loud for that." Janet, whose mum has lived on the road for around 11 years, said she quickly rushed outside upon hearing a loud noise.

Janet shared: "At first I didn't know where to look but then I saw all the smoke. One of my neighbours was saying that they had to look for his dog. I think it's ok from what I've heard. I just hope the poor bloke is ok too."

Another resident, who asked not to be named, said they saw neighbours being evacuated from their homes. He said: "They must have wondered what the hell was going on. There's a lot of elderly people living in this street. I was woken up by the sirens and lights and when I looked out of the window it was just chaos. I've never seen anything like it."

John Gerrard, who lives on a neighbouring street, said that he worries it will be "quite a while" before residents are able to return to their homes. "You can see that the structure of the house has been really badly affected. It's coming up to and it makes you worry that people won't be able to go back to their homes before then."

Police confirmed that an investigation has been launched in conjunction with Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service. Anyone with any information is asked to call 101, quoting log 1500 of November 2 2024.