‘Major incident’ declared after home explosion

Nearby homes have been evacuated as emergency services work to account for all residents.

Rubble where the explosion took place on John Street in Worksop — The public have been advised to avoid the scene of the explosion (Danny Lawson/PA)

A major incident has been declared and homes evacuated following an explosion at a home in Nottinghamshire.

Firefighters remained at the scene in Worksop on Sunday morning as emergency services worked to account for all residents.

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service said it received its first report about the incident in John Street at 7.39pm on Saturday.

“The building involved in this explosion has been significantly damaged. Structural engineers will be assessing the situation later today,” the statement read.

The public has been advised to avoid the area.

Nottinghamshire Police confirmed the terraced property had been “partially destroyed” and adjoining homes had also been damaged.

Emergency services at the scene on John Street in Worksop (Danny Lawson/PA)

There was “no confirmation” of injuries, according to the BBC.

The nearby Crown Place Community Centre was opened as a place of safety for residents.

Chief Inspector Neil Humphris, of Nottinghamshire Police, said officers would also remain on the scene “throughout the night”.

“Multiple properties have been evacuated as we work with our partners to respond to this incident and understand how it happened,” he said.

Images circulated on social media appeared to show the destroyed home, and people on Facebook reported hearing a “huge” bang which shook the surrounding properties.

The entire length of the house looks to have been wrecked, with bricks covering part of the street in front, in a video of the scene shared on Facebook.

The scene on John Street in Worksop — The entire length of the house looks to have been wrecked (Danny Lawson/PA)

On X, formerly Twitter, one person asked at around 8.06pm: “Did anyone else hear a loud bang /explosion sound in Worksop North Nottingham around 30 minutes ago?”

A Facebook user posted at about 8.10pm: “I was driving back from Mass this evening, just turned into Gladstone Street from Gateford Road, when there was a terrific bang, like a very loud firework! I thought the back end had blown off my car.

“A house in John Street has had, presumably, a gas explosion!”

Karolina Ciolko, who lives nearby, told the BBC: “I was lying in bed when I heard an explosion.

“I quickly looked out the window. I saw smoke and the car in front of me rocked, and the alarm went off. We quickly ran out of the house to see what had happened.”

Anyone who has any additional information is asked to contact 101 quoting incident 612 of April 12.