Worksop blast: 'I smelled gas three days before explosion ripped homes apart'

Gas could be smelled on the street where a shock explosion killed a man and all but levelled his home, a resident has said.

confirmed today that one man in his 50s tragically died at the scene after a gas explosion ripped apart a home on John street in Worksop, Nottinghamshire on Saturday. personnel had spent much of the day combing through the wreckage of the property in the usually quiet town when they recovered the man, with paramedics unable to save his life despite their best efforts. One resident now claims to have smelt gas in the area before the incident, which has seen the entire street evacuated and closed off to the public.

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The woman, who has not been named, said she informed the relevant authorities about the issue after smelling gas on John Street last week, adding she was assured it would be dealt with. The woman, who lives nearby, said workers had placed markings on the road after she made her report.

She said on Saturday night: "This was the street right outside my home. There are marks all over the pavement because I reported smelling gas. An emergency team came and detected gas and said it would be dealt with soon. That was three days ago."

The fire service has confirmed that the incident was a gas explosion in an update on Saturday, something residents feared when the initial explosion struck "like a bomb".

Marlene, who lives three doors down from the home hit by the blast, said her "whole house shook" and she feared a gas explosion would mean another could follow. She said: "My whole house shook. I just froze and started talking to my dog Missy saying ‘Oh my God what was that’. But she shot upstairs.

“The glass from my chandelier shattered and was on the floor. If I’d been in my garden I would have been knocked out from all the debris. My back door won’t shut. I rushed out the front and my neighbour’s door had been blown off and the cars damaged. I was worried if there was a gas explosion it could happen again.

“There were slates off the roof, fence panels and dust everywhere. I saw the smoke. Then all the people came taking videos. I guessed it had been a gas explosion. I’m still shaking now. Everyone is shook up. It was the biggest explosion you can ever imagine, it felt like a bomb."

The Daily has contacted Cadent Gas for comment.