Clacton gas explosion: Neighbours rescue elderly woman

Paramedics were treating the elderly woman at the scene when firefighters arrived

A woman in her 80s was rescued from a bungalow following an explosion believed to have been caused by gas.

Firefighters were called at 06:30 BST to reports of a gas explosion at a semi-detached bungalow in Hawthorn Road in Clacton, Essex.

The woman was pulled from the wreckage by two neighbours, who have been labelled "heroes".

An Essex Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said the woman was taken to Colchester General Hospital.

Engineers were called in because firefighters were concerned about the integrity of the bungalow's structure

The neighbours who rushed to her rescue were woken just before 06:30 by a loud bang that shook nearby homes.

Clare Stow, 49, said her husband Paul, 50, and her brother Ian Rodman were "heroes".

"We heard a massive bang, I have never heard anything like it in my life," she said.

"First of all we checked the roof of our house then Paul and Ian ran out into the road shouting to phone the emergency services."

Gas engineers were asked to attend to investigate the source of the explosion

Her husband was first to get into the wrecked bungalow and he picked up the injured woman and lifted her through the window to Mr Rodman.

"This is all while the cooker is in flames, I didn't know when it was going to go bang again, that was my fear," Mrs Stow said.

"My brother is visiting from Thailand so there was some excitement for him. They are the real heroes, we just made the tea."