Wolverhampton house blast: Tributes to father killed in petrol fume explosion

Avtar Dhensa was caught in the blast at his detached house in Rylands Drive, off Mount Road, Penn.

Emergency services descended on the quiet cul-de-sac and found a fire in an upstairs bedroom which had spread into the roof. Mr Dhensa, aged 49, was confirmed dead at the scene.

His wife, Jaspal, and son, Rajdeep, are staying with family friend, Kiran Uppal.

She said Mrs Dhensa left home at 2pm on Tuesday to go to work at the Woodlands Quaker Home in Penn Road, where she is the assistant manager.

Less than two hours later she received a call from her son who had been contacted by neighbours forced from their homes following the blast.

Mrs Dhensa was driven to her home and greeted by a scene of devastation.

Mrs Uppal, a colleague of Mrs Dhensa at Woodlands Quaker Home, said "She is very depressed. She has lost her husband, her home, everything.

"She has got nothing at all. It is very hard on her. She does not deserve this. She is such a nice lady. They are both so hard working, lovely people."

Yesterday West Midlands Fire Service revealed the explosion is believed to have been caused following a build up of petrol vapours in the house.

Neighbours had previously reported that Mr Dhensa had been carrying out DIY earlier in the day and Mrs Uppal added he may have been doing insulation work on the house when the explosion took place.

Mr Dhensa had two daughters, Jaspreet and Jaskiran, who live abroad with his three grandchildren. He is known to have worked on markets across the region, although not for a couple of years.

Residents in Rylands Drive have described it as a close-knit community and have been left in shock. For many yesterday morning was the first sight they had had of the extensive damage to the home.

Many had been attending the funeral of Mr Dhensa's next door neighbour, an elderly woman, when the tragedy took place.

Spike Hill, 53, said: "He was a really nice guy. He would always say hello when you saw him in the street.

"I always used to see him walking. I offered him a lift a couple of times but he seemed to prefer walking everywhere. I really hope his wife is OK. They are a really nice couple."

Fellow resident Mary, who did not want to give her last name, who lives nearer the top of Rylands Drive, welcomed several others into her home in the hours after the blast as firefighters worked to make the scene safe. She said: "At first they thought they were going to have to wait a maximum of two hours but of course it ended up being slightly longer than that.

"We were all just praying for no-one to be in the house but sadly we now know there was. It is devastating.

"Everyone was just upset. Everyone's focus is on the man. He was a lovely man. It is such a shame this has happened. I did not know him very well but he would always say hello and good morning. He was very nice to his children. He was a really positive person.

"You just never know when something like this is going to happen to you or your next door neighbour."

Officers from West Midlands Police worked quickly to close Rylands Drive at its junction with Mount Road after firefighters had arrived.

The flames were quickly dampened but nothing could be done to save Mr Dhensa.

Those living closest to the affected home were not allowed back into their properties until around 8pm and the road was eventually reopened to traffic at around midnight.

Remarkably, the scene is just a mile from an address in Penn Road which was destroyed in a gas blast last week.

Pensioner Wendy Ayoub miraculously survived after her washing machine fell on top of her, shielding her from debris. A cause for that blast is yet to be fully established, putting the clean-up on hold.