Pensioner survives gas blast

Firefighters suspect gas was the cause of the explosion

An 82-year-old man has escaped unhurt from the rubble of his home after a suspected gas explosion flattened the property.

Frank Small had put his kettle on the gas cooker to make a cup of tea when his house in South Shields, South Tyneside, blew up.

Firefighters said if he had not been walking away from the cooker into another room at the time, he could have been killed.

When fire crews arrived, Mr Small was standing amid the rubble, minus his eyebrows, with singed hair and a blistered face.

If he stood where he was he would have been blown out through the walls himself

Station Officer Bill West

Station Officer Bill West, of South Shields Fire Station, said: "When we saw the damage we were just amazed that he had managed to get out alive.

"He is a remarkable man and I had him down as about 60 when we arrived.

"He was standing there, quite calm, telling us what had happened.

"Some of his hair and his eyebrows were gone and his face and arms were blistered, but he chatted to us about what had happened."

Mr Small told the firefighters he had returned from his morning swim on Wednesday when the blast happened.

'Lucky man'

When the pilot light on his cooker failed he had lit the gas with a match and turned to walk away.

Station Officer West said: "If he stood where he was he would have been blown out through the walls himself.

"He's a very lucky man."

The cause of the blast is being investigated, but Mr West said firefighters had detected a strong smell of gas.

Mr Small was taken to hospital and after a check up returned to his daughter's home to recover.