AN EYEWITNESS has described how he ran into one of the homes affected by the suspected gas explosion in Launcelot Close this morning.

The incident happened at around 2.30am this morning and one man has been confirmed dead.

READ: Man dies after explosion at home in Lancelot Close

One house has been destroyed with another severely damaged.

One witness who did not wish to be named said they ran into the severely damaged home.

He said: "I heard a bang, it was just before I was about to go to bed.

"Me and a lad from down the road ran into the building. We had to push the doors in, I went in and he looked out for me, we had each other’s backs. It was a mess in there.

"I didn’t see the explosion, just heard the bang and just a boom.

"When we came out we saw the fire brigade and said there was no one in the second house. All morning they have been pushing us back."

A friend of the family believed to be directly involved in the incident said: “Everyone in the community ran to help. It was about the community, protecting the community, helping people." 

Neighbour Steven Cooke said: "It was about 2.30am at first I heard a bang then heard a car alarm go off. I got up to make sure that no one was mucking about with the car. Then my wife went into the other room and said there had been a big explosion. We then got on the phone to the emergency services.

"It is numbing. I still can't believe what I was looking at. It is just a shock." 

Sanjay and Sanika Adav, who live close by, added: "We heard a loud noise so we woke up and thought something had happened in our house as our house had shook a little. Then I saw the house over there totally destroyed. 

"Everything had collapsed and people were out there with torches searching to find out what happened."