Fatal blast 'at site of previous natural gas leak'

An explosion that killed a man happened at the same property where an underground gas leak occurred earlier in the year, neighbours have told the BBC.

One man died and a woman was seriously hurt in the blast on Cleat Hill, Bedford, on Saturday morning.

In July, the BBC reported from the area after a contractor struck a pocket of gas while drilling a borehole for a heat pump, which led to an evacuation.

Neighbour Joel Simpson said it was "definitely the same house" where that leak occurred, which was corroborated by other residents. A number of people are still unable to return to their homes following Saturday's blast.

Bedford Borough Council set up an emergency assistance centre in response.

At the weekend, Bedfordshire Police said "increased" levels of gas had been found in the area that were believed to be naturally-occurring from an underground source, and not from a gas pipe.

Mr Simpson, 22, told the BBC he heard a loud bang on Saturday morning - "sort of like a gunshot.

"You rushed to the window and saw the flames straight away," he said.

"From my house you could see this whole building in complete flames.

"It is definitely the same house as the owner who tried to have the borehole dug."

He said he was evacuated from his home, along with his parents, and they were only allowed back in for a 10-minute slot to pack bags.

"You get escorted in, you have 10 minutes with a flash-light to pack three bags for three people. It was quite hard," he said.

"I don't even have my house keys at the minute. I had to give them to some of the people doing the gas yesterday so they can go in and check, because they keep finding gas in houses where it happened."

He said his household was staying with family, but he had read in a neighbourhood WhatsApp group that some people had struggled to get food and access their vehicles.

He wondered "how long we're going to be out for".

"There's no time frame... There's no next steps at the minute," he said.

In a statement, Victoria Grieve, East of England network director for gas emergency service at Cadent, said: "Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family and friends of the people involved in this tragic incident.

"We have tested our gas pipe network and found that the main and service gas pipes are sound. No leaks have been detected.

"As a matter of standard procedure, we have cut off the gas supply to the affected property as a safety precaution.

"We have been asked to stay on site, as the gas emergency experts, to advise and assist the fire service and HSE in their investigations."

In July, the discovery of the pocket of gas was described as a "one in a million" incident by the fire service.

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