Kentish Express Ashford & District
BLOWN AWAY
■ Seven people injured as huge explosion destroys house ■ Many left homeless and trapped in rubble after morning blast ■ Huge community effort as father and son save neighbours from blaze
Seven people were injured – including two seriously – when an explosion left residents trapped in a row of terraced houses.
Neighbours in Mill View in Willesborough fled after the incident in an Ashford Borough Council-owned property shook the street just before 8am on Tuesday.
People had to be pulled from the rubble, with many onlookers still in their pyjamas as they watched the drama unfold in front of them.
Police, seven fire engines and a height vehicle, and medics rushed to the scene, where a number of people were reported to have been trapped.
Five people were taken to the William Harvey Hospital.
The other two, who were more seriously injured, were taken to London hospitals.
At least one of them was airlifted by the London Air Ambulance, which landed on Hythe Road Recreation Ground.
By 11.30am, police confirmed all residents had been accounted for.
The cause of the blast is yet to be known but police are not treating it as suspicious.
Those living in Mill View, as well as Osborne Road, Church Road, Willesborough Lees and by the windmill, felt their houses shake as the blast rocked the street.
Michelle King, who lives in Mill View, says she was awake when the explosion happened.
She said: “My window looks onto the street and – as we’re on a bus route – I thought a bus had hit the house.
“I heard the boom, ran out the house and saw the dust and detritus as it started falling.
“At that point there was no fire just very light smoke, but glass, fibreglass, book pages and debris was everywhere.”
Ms King quickly got on the phone to 999, with her call possibly being the first to get through.
The 29-year-old liaised with the emergency response teams for about 15 minutes, while neighbours helped to get people out of the worst affected buildings.
Ms King praised the speed at which the emergency services arrived, with the first responders turning up only a couple of minutes after the initial blast.
Meanwhile, Frankie Habgood of nearby Breadlands Road said: “It felt like the house and windows were shaking.
“I heard the sirens and looked out of the window – there were people everywhere. It was terrifying.
“When we first saw what was happening and went out onto the road, people were saying there might be another explosion because of the adjacent homes.
“It’s scary, and Ashford’s quite a close-knit community so people will stick together, but it’s just horrendous.”