Two hurt in house explosion

Two people are critically ill in hospital with severe burns after a house explosion in North Lincolnshire.

Firefighters spent an hour tackling the fire after the blast in Bushfield Road, Scunthorpe, just before 1600 GMT on Sunday.

An investigation is under way to find the cause of the explosion, which left the semi-detached house badly damaged but not did not affect neighbouring properties.

The casualties, a 23-year-old woman and a 31-year-old man, escaped and were looked after by neighbours until the emergency services arrived.

They were initially taken to Scunthorpe General Hospital but later transferred to a specialist burns unit at Pinderfields Hospital, in Wakefield, on Monday.

Neighbour Carol Nicholson was in the street with her baby grandson at the time of the blast.

She told BBC Look North: "There was a huge explosion and all this acrid smoke coming out of the house.

"My first reaction was to run back to get my son. I didn't know if anybody was trapped.

"By the time we got back to the house there was a male and female on the floor in a bad way."

The house is being guarded by police until a forensic examination has been carried out.