Fire crews tackle suspected major gas explosion at house in Riddings, Derbyshire

Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service are at the scene of a suspected gas explosion at a house in Riddings, near Alfreton. A spokeswoman for the service said there were "potentially persons reported" inside the property, in Valley View Road.

Crews from three stations are at the scene of the explosion, though it is still unclear if anyone was injured. The incident was reported at around 7.30am on Sunday, 20 September.

A spokeswoman for Derbyshire Fire and Rescue said: "The fire is ongoing but we are unable to enter the building due to its structural integrity – it's too dangerous at present so we are fighting the fire from the outside.

"We will be conducting a joint investigation with the police to determine the cause of the fire. We are unable to release any more details at this stage until we've entered the building."

Local resident Mark Robins told the Derby Telegraph the huge bang woke him up. "When you are lying in bed, you don't know what is going on but it sounded like a loud bang, followed by a noise that sounded like rubble going down into a skip."The house was in flames, with a lot of rubble everywhere, so I rang the fire brigade."

Another resident who did not give his name said: "I looked out the bedroom window and could see a large plume of smoke rising. We went into another bedroom and we could see the flames between the houses."

A Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) has also been sent to the scene, according to East Midlands Ambulance Service. Structural engineers are now assessing the building to ensure it is safe to enter. In the meantime crews are using an aerial platform to tackle the blaze.