Mother and sisters see girl, 9, killed by freak house blast as she waits to get in car for school run

Stephanie Hammacott's mother and sisters were already in the car when the elderly tenant of the house switched on his central heating and ignited a suspected gas leak.

The roof was blown off and an outer wall collapsed on top of Stephanie, who took the full force of the blast.

Her mother Carol, 38, a teaching assistant, and sisters Terri-Anne, 15, and Tonie-Marie, 11, frantically tried to rescue her from the rubble.

Paramedics attempted to resuscitate her but she was pronounced dead in hospital.

Mrs Hammacott and the elderly couple who lived in the house, Ronald and Harriet Cloke, were also taken to hospital but were not seriously hurt.

Tragedy struck just before 8am as Mrs Hammacott was taking her daughters to school breakfast club from their home in the Southway area of Plymouth.

It is thought gas had been leaking overnight from the Clokes' two-bedroom council house, 50 yards from the Hammacotts' home.

After the blast, neighbours rushed out with blankets. Agnes Phipps, 61, said she was horrified by the scene she found.

"There were people screaming and what was left of the house was in flames and there was a little girl there lying on the grass.

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"The people there did all they could until the fire and ambulance came and there was somebody who looked like a nurse in uniform who was giving first aid.

"Somebody else had brought out blankets and the girl was already covered up by the time I got there.

"This is a terrible shock for the whole community. It is awful that a little girl can be injured like that as she is just walking past."

Another witness, Dan Kershaw, said: "I heard a woman screaming. There was a girl trapped under the rubble of the wall. The mother was hysterical.'"

The force of the explosion hurled bricks and other debris up to 50ft. Surrounding homes were evacuated.

Mrs Hammacott's brother Stephen Griffey said she and her husband Paul, a tyre fitter, were being comforted by relatives.

He said his sister used her bare hands to try to rescue her daughter.

"They pulled Steph from under the rubble," said Mr Griffey, 42.

"I have not spoken to Carol because she is in a mess. The whole family is gobsmacked by what has happened.

"Steph was here on Saturday talking about what a good Christmas they had all had and how she had been playing with the Wii she was given.

"She was in the Brownies and was a lovely bubbly girl and she and her family always looked after each other and made a point of spending every Sunday together as a family day.

"She did a lot of after-school clubs and had just started riding and taking an interest in horses."

Mark Lees, head of Southway Primary School, said: "Stephanie was a popular, caring pupil who brightened up the lives of children and adults alike with her loving personality.

"We will miss her terribly and the school extends its sincerest condolences to her family at this time."

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At the scene of the blast, tenyearold Ebony McCrorie left a pink piglet in memory of her friend with an inscription that read: "Stephanie, you're a bright shining star and we'll never forget you, love from all at Southway Primary School."

Fire service group commander Malcolm Carmichael said: "The couple in the house managed to escape relatively unharmed.

"You sometimes find in gas explosions that those inside suffer fewer injuries because the blast tends to go outwards."

A spokesman for Plymouth City Council said: "Our records show that the property's gas inspection records were up to date and the last inspection was carried out in June."