Nelson Street: Demolition begins on damaged houses

Residents of Nelson Street in Bury were left in shock after a major blast ripped through a terraced house at around 11am.

A woman in her 70s was taken to hospital with serious injuries and residents were evacuated from their homes as emergency services attended.

Today, Friday, gas network Cadent confirmed that a gas smell in the area was reported two days before the incident.

A spokesperson said: “After the incident on Wednesday, we carried out thorough checks on all neighbouring properties and confirmed the gas pipes feeding them are sound.

“This enabled these properties to be safely reoccupied.

“We haven’t ever responded to a report of a smell of gas at the property where the incident happened.

“I can confirm that we did attend a report of a smell of gas nearby, on this street, two days before.

"For context, as the gas emergency service, we respond to many thousands of reports of smells of gas every year.

“As the area’s gas emergency service, we always urge people to call us if they ever think they smell gas.

"Whether it turns out there is a gas leak or there isn’t, it is important to have it checked.”

The demolition has started on Nelson Street (Image: Newsquest)

Cllr Tamoor Tariq, who lives opposite Nelson Street, said that work on the demolition started at 8am this morning, Friday.

He said: “Work started pretty promptly at 8am, the heavy-duty vehicles came, and everything was set up as of last night.

“The decision has been taken for it to be a brick-by-brick process.

“It will be a very slow process due to the police wanting to retrieve as much of the scene as possible for their criminal investigation.”

The first floor will be taken apart today, and the rest will be done on Monday.

Cllr Tariq spoke about the woman injured in the blast, Sheila, who was injured in the blast and said she had lived in the area for decades.

He said: “I know Sheila and I got to know her around 10 years ago when there was a proposed BL9 concert at the Bury FC stadium and myself and some residents had a lobby group opposing the concert.

But Sheila was one of the most vocal on that campaign and I got to know her quite well.

“I would always see her walking up and down Gigg Lane.

“I would say she is well known and always smiling and friendly. I understand she’s stable in ICU and we’re hopeful she’ll make a recovery.”

An aerial view of the house on Nelson Street (Image: SWNS)

It is understood the council is going to use emergency powers to help start the process of rebuilding the homes on the site and Cllr Tariq said he will be lobbying the council to lobby the insurance companies to rebuild the homes, which is the preferred option for the residents.

A council spokesperson said: "Thank you to all the emergency and other services who responded so quickly to the explosion and who continue to support our local communities.

"Our thoughts also continue to be with the woman who was injured, her family and the local community.

"As the demolition continues so will our support for residents, liaising with them, updating on progress and signposting to services.

"The information point for residents on Gigg Lane opposite Nelson Street will remain in place throughout the weekend."

Mushtaq Anwar, Sheila’s neighbour, described her as quiet however she was friendly and would say "hello".

Mr Anwar was watching his home of 18 years being demolished this morning and is waiting to find out if he can recover any of his belongings from the house.