Two houses collapsed following the blast, which happened in the early hours of Sunday.

Thomas Edmunds, 36, was found unconscious in his house in Kirkby, Merseyside.

Department store Browns of Chester closes its doors after 241 years of serving the city.

Blackburn's public health director shares his anger at not being able to vaccinate all over-18s.

Leon Cullen, 33, fled to Dubai using a fake passport before UK police tracked him down.

Pupils in parts of north-west England continue wearing face masks in school amid variant concerns.

Twelve ducklings were reunited with an anxious mother duck after they fell into a drain.

The family of 12 ducklings are reunited with an anxious mother duck after they fell into a drain.

Four people arrested on suspicion of murdering a 58-year-old woman have been released, police say.

Matt Banks says his son Jordan's "kindness has meant that three other children may be able to live".

Alan Fare, 73, murdered 58-year-old Mandy Houghton with a hammer in her home in Nelson.

Connor Dockerty, 23, died in hospital after he was found with stab wounds to his chest in Huyton.

Niamh Foy was unable to speak to classmates at school, but finding her voice led her to help others.

Liverpool players remember keen footballer Jordan Banks who died in Blackpool.

Residents say Bolton "has just been very unlucky" as it braces itself against a surge in Covid cases.

Newly-elected mayor Joanne Anderson may only be in the job for a year if the role is scrapped.

Nine-year-old Jordan Banks was "the brightest star" and "our everything", his family says.

Four people are convicted of killing Steven McMyler who was robbed and kicked to death in a churchyard.

The boy, named locally as Jordan Banks, was taking part in a football coaching session in Blackpool.

Pub and cafe owners in Bolton are apprehensive about reopening amid a rise in the Indian variant.