Portsmouth house blown apart in explosion ready to be knocked down after 'sign-off'

Denise Smy and her son Gary’s Nelson Avenue house in North End was left in ruins after suddenly exploding on October 22.

The pair miraculously survived after Royal Navy Petty Officer Jon Thornber, a neighbour, rescued them from the burning wreck.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has confirmed it is investigating - which Denise’s youngster sister Syvlia Fisher previously said had led to things ‘grinding to a halt’.

But Sylvia has now said the house has been ‘signed-off’ by the government agency and will be demolished soon.

She said: ‘The owner of the house said it had been signed-off so it should be knocked down soon to find out where the leak came from.

‘A fire chief was scratching his head at how the blast happened the day after the explosion. It was thought it could have been caused by a spark from the electricity. Hopefully we will now find out soon.

‘Then we will be able to go into the house and salvage ornaments and whatever else we can. A neighbour has said we can put things in his shed.

‘Hopefully it will not be like the Whale Island investigation which took months.’

The impact of the blast on Denise, 82, and Gary, 56, is still being felt. The pair were at a specialist burns unit at Salisbury hospital before being moved to a Southsea care home before Christmas.

Sylvia said: ‘Denise is not very good at all. Gary is still not fit enough to work and is having trouble with one finger. He needs to go to hospital every month for it. They are still in the care home.’

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Gary’s employer Tesco in Cosham has been a tower of strength for the bereft duo, though.

Tesco had raised £4,500 in November but has now collected a staggering £7,000 while also offering to refurbish Gary’s new residence and buying him a new Playstation.

The company also plans on holding a ‘red carpet’ event to honour their loyal employee of 33 years when he is well enough.

‘It’s so nice what everyone has done. We are all so grateful, it’s really helped them,’ Sylvia said.

‘Gary’s also had lots of customers and old friends or people that knew him sending in cards to Tesco.’

An HSE spokesman said: ‘We are investigating, we cannot comment any further at this time.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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