Man is arrested after gas explosion destroys terraced home

A man has been arrested after a gas explosion destroyed a terraced home in the middle of the night.

The explosion happened at around 1.10am this morning on Marlborough Avenue in Goole, East Yorkshire.

Households miraculously escaped, as no one was injured in a huge blast which rocked a street and forced residents to seek sanctuary in a parish church. 

Humberside Police confirmed the incident is being treated as an arson attack, as a man has been arrested at the scene on suspicion of committing arson with intent to endanger life. 

Residents saw a house go up in flames as bricks fell from the property onto the top of cars. A large gaping hole has been left in the property. 

A man has been arrested at the scene on suspicion of committing arson with intent to endanger life

A gas explosion rocked a street in Goole, East Yorkshire and forced residents to seek sanctuary in a parish church in the early hours of this morning

The blast ripped through one of the houses, leaving a gaping hole and a collapsed roof in the terrace

Police said there were no serious injuries and everyone had been accounted for.

Those impacted said it was ‘like a scene from the Blitz’ as 999 workers cleared the wreckage from the blast this morning. 

Resident Nicolescu Sorin: ‘It terrible. It was a gas explosion, it happened around 1am. Pieces of the house wall fell over the cars and across the street, including power lines and tv cable.

‘It’s the first time I’ve seen something like this. The intervention of the firemen and the police was exceptional.’

She added: ‘Everyone be careful. From 1 am to 9 am we were evacuated – a terrible experience so please take care of you and your homes.’

Families were ordered to leave their homes on Marlborough Avenue as police, firemen and gas workers sealed off the area. 

The road has been closed in both directions while investigations are underway. 

The whole street was closed after the explosion ripped through one of the houses, leaving a gaping hole and a collapsed roof in the terraced home where the blast blew out.

One person who was there said: ‘The whole street was evacuated to nearby church. A Single bloke lived in property. We heard he tried to do himself in at 2am.’

One local mother, Lidija Jeremejeva, said: ‘Around 2am I heard a noise and felt like our house shook.

‘I went to check on my daughter and saw outside of her window a fire in a neighbor’s house across of street and that the wall of the second floor fell.  

Those impacted said it was ‘like a scene from the Blitz’ as 999 workers cleared the wreckage from the blast 

The whole street was closed after the explosion ripped through one of the houses

‘Others are already called firefighters. In the next 15 minutes (maybe less) the fire took the overall roof.

‘Later on, everyone was told there is a gas explosion and we have to evacuate to church.’ 

‘I was told there are no victims. The emergency services left around 8 am. Right now everyone is gone except the workers who cleaned the ruins and the police control blocking half of the street from the roundabout to the middle of the street.’ 

A spokesperson for Humberside Police said: ‘We are in attendance at the scene of a suspected gas explosion at a house on Malborough Road in Goole. We were called at 1.10am today to reports of an explosion and fire at the address.

‘The area was cordoned off to allow emergency services to work safely and for the safety of the public. No one is reported to have been seriously injured. A man has been arrested at the scene on suspicion of committing arson with intent to endanger life.

‘He has been taken into police custody. Neighbouring properties have been evacuated as a precaution. Occupants of all neighbouring properties have been accounted for.

‘A road closure and police cordon remain in place, and we are asking for people to stay away from the area whilst emergency services deal with the incident.’