Welder killed in gas blast fireball

Dozens of houses and shops had their windows and doors blown in by the force of the 7am blast.

The fire brigade said the death toll could have been far worse if the explosion had occurred two hours later when people were out Saturday shopping.

The blast, in the centre of Wolsingham, County Durham, could be heard three miles away. Parts of the red Transit van were found in a churchyard and in the front rooms of houses.

Tony John, of the Durham Fire Service, said: "On another day, this would have been a whole lot worse.

"If it had happened later or on a normal working day there would certainly have been multiple fatalities."

The explosion occurred after the driver, named locally as Andy Herd, 33, had stopped to buy a paper near the village's 350-year-old market place.

The welder and his wife, Jennifer, had been looking forward to the birth of their first child.

Residents described how the village had been shaken awake by the sound of the explosion.

Forklift truck driver Malcolm Gibbin, 34, said: "The street was unrecognisable, there was total destruction. Parts of the van were strewn all over the place.

"The only thing I could compare it with is pictures of bomb explosions during the troubles in Ireland."

Schoolboy Matthew Crooks, 14, added: "All the windows on the front of our house have been smashed. The front and back doors have blown off the hinges and even an internal door has snapped in two.

"It was lucky it was not a school day or me and my sister would have been downstairs and could easily have been killed."

Many villagers had to be evacuated from their homes in case of further explosions.

A spokesman for Durham police said the centre of the village would remain cordoned off to allow the remaining gas cylinder from the van to cool down.

"When the fire incident commander is satisfied there is no danger to the cylinder, remaining debris will be removed from the area,' he said.

"While we have to keep an open mind, there is no reason to suspect foul play."