Clacton blast: Two badly injured in gas explosion

Two houses have been destroyed and two people seriously injured in a gas explosion at Clacton in Essex.

Many other houses were damaged in the blast which happened just before 8.30 GMT in Cloes Lane. An elderly couple had to be pulled from the wreckage.

Nearly 20 houses in the road and in nearby Dedham Avenue have been evacuated and the area around the explosion remains sealed off.

A man who went to the aid of the injured described the scene as "just chaos".