Arson arrest over house explosion and fire

A man has been arrested on suspicion of arson after a fire and explosion at a house in rural Lancashire.

He was taken to hospital with minor injuries but no one else was hurt after the blaze broke out on Carr Lane, Hambleton just after 09:50 GMT, emergency services said.

Neighbour Jeffrey Harrison-Turner said there was a "very, very large bang", adding: "It sounded like two large vehicles had crashed into each other."

Lancashire Police said a 54-year-old man was being held on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger life and that it was being treated as an "isolated incident".

Station Manager Rod Steele, from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, said the single-storey house was "fully engulfed in flames with significant debris strewn across the road and in the garden".

He said he believed "some gas cylinders in the property" caused the explosion and said the fire service and police were conducting a joint investigation.

Harrison-Turner said he saw "a lot of black smoke and flames shooting out the front".

He added that his own house suffered some damage after the explosion "really shook the house - the whole window shook and one of the blinds came down".

"If it had been an hour and a half earlier - there's lots of kids coming up and down here going to school - I think that would have caused carnage."

Some surrounding properties were evacuated and roads were temporarily closed as firefighters tackled the blaze.

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