18 November 2023 , 14:32
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A pensioner who was airlifted to hospital after a suspected gas blast ripped through his bungalow has died, police have confirmed.
Nigel Barrow, 78, was rushed to hospital after the explosion in New Mills, Derbyshire, on Tuesday but passed away on Friday. A Derbyshire Police spokesperson said: "His family are aware and are being supported by officers.
"An investigation is ongoing into the cause of the explosion, however, due to the damage caused to the property this has yet to be completed. A further review of the scene will take place early next week."
An aerial image showing the destroyed house (Lee McLean / SWNS)
Emergency services rushed to the scene in New Mills, Derbyshire, on Tuesday (Lee McLean / SWNS)Fire crews dashed to Ollersett Avenue in the town following reports of a blast at 8.07am in Tuesday. Photos taken at the scene show a ground-floor terraced home, valued at roughly £250,000, with flames shooting up from its heavily damaged roof.
Locals said they had heard a huge bang and felt the ground shake like an "earthquake" as they were getting their kids ready for school in the morning. Mum of two Danielle Allsop, 38, who lives ten doors down from the home, said her partner Sean Reeder, 33, was one of the people who helped rescue Nigel.
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She said at the time: "I was getting my children read about 8.05am when there was an ungodly shake of the house – like almost an earthquake standard. We went upstairs, and initially we couldn’t see anything. But when we went to the front gate, we could see the house. The roof was caved in.
Neighbours said the explosion sounded like an 'earthquake' (Lee McLean / SWNS)"The poor man's legs were burnt to shreds, he had shrapnel wounds, and his face was covered in blood. But there were four young guys who pulled him out. Hats off to them because they went in before it set on fire.
"My partner and another next-door neighbour were also first on the scene. They helped the man across the road when they got him out. We were there within seconds. He wasn’t able to stand. He wasn’t in a good way at all. He was laying on the pavement across the road, covered by a curtain until the ambulance arrived. My kids were in tears straight away. That’s how much the house shook, it was terrifying."
Fire crews leave the scene in Derbyshire (William Lailey / SWNS)Full-time mum Danielle said she had heard from neighbours that the man had recently moved into the council home, provided to elderly pensioners. And she said there was speculation that he may have reported an issue with his boiler before the explosion.
She added: "He was obviously quite new to this street. He was living in the elderly bungalows. They’re council houses for people in care who need a little extra assistance. So I think he’d recently moved here. He’d been in hospital and he’d not been very well. He’d come home and then obviously, apparently, there was something wrong with his boiler."