Young dancers have lucky escape from massive blast

Shock: Children had been in dance studio above blast site an hour before

Children were in a dance studio just an hour before it was destroyed in a suspected gas explosion.

Witnesses told of their shock that they were able to walk away alive after several buildings collapsed in New Ferry, Wirral, at about 9.15pm on Saturday.

Thirty-four people were injured, two seriously, in the blast which left debris scattered along the street and forced the evacuation of people from the surrounding area to a nearby church.

Helen Hudson said she had been in nearby Chinese restaurant Lan’s House with husband Steve and friends when the blast blew the front of the building in.

She said: “There was a man underneath a table who my husband helped to get out. Another woman had a bad injury to her cheekbone.

“It was so frightening, we thought it was a terrorist attack. There was blood everywhere and dust everywhere. “Our ears are still ringing now. “I can’t believe we walked away alive.” Janette Williamson, who lives close to the scene on the edge of model village Port Sunlight, said: “I thought it was a bomb, everything just shook.”

Chairman of New Ferry Residents’ Association Mark Craig said a row of four shops with a dance studio above had collapsed.

He said: “Just an hour before, there were children in the studio.”

The two seriously injured people are being cared for at Aintree Hospital.

Roads surrounding the blast site remained closed as emergency services, who said some people may not be able to return home for a number of days, continued to work at the scene.

Adam Dingwall, 36, told the Press Association he was driving through Port Sunlight when the explosion happened.

He said: “Because I’m a first aider I drove over there while my wife phoned 999.”

He described the insides of affected houses as “a complete mess”.

Picture: PA. Emergency services at the scene of the blast in Bebington yesterday.