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Blast-damaged homes 'could be demolished'

BBC A lane behind houses is strewn with rubble, bins and blown-off metal black gates. There is a house with its walls blown off. BBC
Checks on the structural soundness of damaged homes are taking place

Houses badly damaged in a suspected gas blast may have to be bulldozed, a council has said.

Cumberland Council also said residents of Hugh Street, Whitehaven, will have to wait at least 10 days before being able to return home to allow safety assessments to be carried out.

Two women and a man, injured in the New Year's Eve blast, are still in hospital in critical but stable conditions.

Council spokesman Karl Melville said safety "would not be compromised" and debris needed to be cleared so as not to "put residents in danger as they move back in".

A fenced-off area of street with yellow barriers around damaged pavements. There are two cars which have bits of wood and rubble on their roofs and bonnets. Some of the wood is blackened.
Displaced residents are facing at least a 10-day wait before they can go home

Mr Melville said three properties had been "significantly damaged" and were being assessed.

"We are trying to see if they are salvageable and this is where our focus will be at the weekend, then we will have conversations with the owners.

"We will make decisions next week about what we will do.

"Initially we are looking at what we can save, but we cannot rule out there being some demolition."

The upper part of a damaged building which has a wall and part of its roof missing.
The council said decisions about the future of some damaged buildings would be made next week

The cause of the explosion is still being investigated.

Labour MP for Whitehaven and Workington Josh MacAlister said: "Moments like these are in a way a test of community spirit and the emergency services.

"With this incident, both have passed with flying colours. It makes me feel really proud of our community."

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