'We woke up to devastation'

By John Hand
BBC News in Hemel Hempstead

The windows of the terraced houses were blown in

Few places took the force of the blast from the early morning explosion more severely than a row of houses in Hemel Hempstead's Leverstock Green estate.

Walking along the footpath that hugs the police tape on the edge of the exclusion area, every window is caved in, doors hang off hinges and you have to pick your way around the glass on the ground.

These are homes mainly owned by private landlords and split into rooms rented by short-term tenants.

One of those is Andrew Catling, who has been living there for a month.

He said he sat bolt upright in bed as soon as the first explosion sounded this morning.

All I could see was a big orange flame at least 100ft high. You could see that above the trees Andrew Catling

He said: "I've never heard anything like it. I saw the flash - it lit up my room despite the fact my curtains were still drawn."

Housemate Simon Dobson gave me a tour of the damaged property.

The rooms at the front, which were unoccupied at the time, had glass in all four corners. Some glass remained in the frames of the double glazing but looked set to collapse at any time.

Pausing at the door of the downstairs bathroom, he pointed at the toilet which had come up off the floor.

Up in his own bedroom, he pointed out cracks in the wall and said: "When I woke up I could see the walls moving towards me, it was so strong."

Black clouds

Mr Catling said he went outside after the initial blast and said: "All I could see was a big orange flame at least 100ft high. You could see that above the trees."

As I turned around, I could see the effect the aftermath of the explosion had on the morning sky, three hours on from the initial blast.

The sky was full of what looks like thundery black clouds but without the usual accompanying threat of rain.

Smoke billowed from the burning depot

Looking for the source of these "clouds", I could see a massive pillar of billowing black smoke, which was too high to measure.

As I was only about a mile away, I could also see the flames at the base of the pillar.

At one point, they shot up into the sky as if there had been yet another small explosion - but they lacked the early morning dramatics described by residents, who told of an otherwise dark night sky which was suddenly lit up as if a giant torch had been switched on.

As the morning went on and the weather brightened, the blue sky surrounding the smoke highlighted its distinct eastward path.

It was at that point it became noticeable that the police officers guarding every possible road leading up towards the oil depot - turning away all traffic and curious pedestrians - were now wearing protective white masks.

Just a precaution, one said.

As I talked to the Leverstock Estate residents, a policeman came along the row of houses and told people they should leave their properties.

Some residents defiantly said they intended to stay put, but the officer said: "My advice is you should go. People who want to stay, they can stay, but only residents. We are concerned about a secondary explosion."

'Terrifying sound'

One of those who was staying put was 18-year-old hairdresser Kelly Sauvarin, who said: "I'm not going. I'm not leaving my stuff. I've got all my stuff here."

Police have urged residents to evacuate

In the Hunters Oak neighbourhood, further round the circle of estates surrounding the oil depot, the modern-built houses were designed more to withstand the effects of such a blast. But even along here, there was much damage to be surveyed.

Ripped-off doors were stood alongside the boarded-up entrances of some houses.

Others homes had windows missing. But some homes were apparently untouched.

Annette Hopkinson lost all her front-facing windows in the blast.

She said the incident was terrifying.

"I was in a deep sleep and suddenly this seemed to be right above us. I thought there was something on the house like an aeroplane and that had clipped us.

"There was this continuous noise. I just screamed. Everything in the bedroom was covered in glass and the curtains blew off their hooks.

There was a flash of light - just a ball of yellow. I was shaking so much that I couldn't tell you if the house was shaking Annette Hopkinson

"There was a flash of light - just a ball of yellow. I was shaking so much that I couldn't tell you if the house was shaking."

As well as having to board up all their windows, Mrs Hopkinson and husband Nigel are having to deal with the damage to their roof, which had several tiles displaced.

"To look at this area, I can't believe I've not been injured," she said.

"We're just starting to take it all in. But why has no-one been round here to tell us what is going on?"

'Pulsing sky'

On the nearby Redbourn Road - again less than a mile from the explosion - Barbara Parker said she was thrown out of bed by the force of the blast.

It just kept getting hotter and hotter - from what I saw it looked like it would be burning for days Simon Finnis

Mrs Parker, who has just had a hip operation, said: "I sleep with my door open so I ended up in the landing. It's good that I landed on the right hip."

She said the view from the back of her house was one she would never forget.

"The whole sky was just lit up but then we saw the flames."

She said her first thought was to get out of there.

"I and my niece just put a few things in a bag - money and jewellery and important papers. It was very frightening."

Her next-door neighbour, Lisa Pittard, described seeing what looked like 150ft flames.

She said: "But at first all you could see out the window was orange. It was pulsing orange. My first reaction was to get out of there but where do you go?"

Her partner, Simon Finnis, walked up the road leading towards the industrial estate. He said: "Even though it was early there were hundreds of people milling about and just one police officer."

He said he was forced to turn back by the intensity of the heat.

He said: "It just kept getting hotter and hotter - from what I saw it looks like this is going to be burning for days."