Man escapes gas explosion at home

The house was destroyed in the blast

A house has been destroyed in a gas explosion in County Armagh.

The incident happened at Meadowvale in the village of Milford at about lunchtime.

A man in his 70s who was in bed in the house at the time was taken to hospital where he was treated for shock. He was not physically injured.

Stanley Bentley, of the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, said the scene of the explosion was one of "devastation".

"It was a timber-framed house so there was a lot of wooden parts of the construction laid all over the property," Mr Bentley said.

"The explosion did cause damage to the adjoining property.

"Our role was to minimise the risk of further explosions. We isolated the gas supply and we took the added precaution to evacuate surrounding premises just in case of further explosions."