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Explosion that blew up house 'terrified' neighbour

Watch: Moment house explodes in north-east London

A neighbour has said she was "terrified" when a gas explosion destroyed a home on her street.

The blast on Ley Street, in Ilford, east London, sent debris flying into the road and sparked a huge fire in the mid-terraced property on Tuesday evening.

Two people were rescued by the London Fire Brigade from a first-floor window and remain in hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Isobel Rowland, 73, who lives opposite the building, said: "The flames were so high, I was terrified, I was shaking, I was absolutely shaking."

London Fire Brigade Firefighters in yellow helmets are working at the scene of a house fire at night, with smoke billowing from a damaged terraced house. Debris is scattered across the street, and fire hoses are in use.London Fire Brigade
Social media footage showed a large explosion

Mrs Rowland heard a bang and believed there had been a car crash but when she checked she saw the home - which had been converted into flats - on fire.

She said "quite a few" people lived there, including a mother and son.

The roof was destroyed in the explosion and much of the rest of the building, including the ground floor, first floor and a loft conversion, was destroyed by the fire.

Two neighbouring properties were also damaged in the blast.

PA Media A cherry-picker with fire crew in it looms above an exploded roofPA Media
Crews tackled the fire from above

Eight fire engines and about 60 firefighters were sent to Ley Street, just after 16:00 GMT, and the fire was under control by about 18:30.

The LFB said that at the fire's height, the first floor and loft conversion were "fully alight".

The cause of the gas leak is under investigation.

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