Langford Road house collapse: Neighbours report 'awful cracks' in their homes before disaster that has put two people in hospital

Police, fire, and ambulance services were called to Langford Road after the terraced property collapsed at about 8.30am this morning.

Two casualties were treated by South Central Ambulance Service paramedics before being taken to hospital.

Police and gas engineers at the scene reported that they do not believe the collapse was caused by a gas explosion, but works to ascertain the disaster’s cause are ongoing.

The majority of homes along the road were evacuated, according to residents who gathered at St Mary’s Church in Fratton Road, which is offering shelter for those affected.

Speaking on the grounds of the church, a next-door neighbour said she had heard and seen ‘awful cracks’ forming along her walls inside her property shortly before the house next door was reduced to rubble.

Verity Earl, who had been preparing her six-year-old son for school before the incident, said: ‘We heard some cracking noises that morning. It sounded like this awful crack forming. Plaster was coming off the wall and it looked like the wall was moving. My son was freaking out over it. He wanted to get away from it. So we left the house (for the school-run) a little earlier than usual to keep him calm.

‘We had left a couple of minutes before it collapsed. The front of the house just fell out.’

She added: ‘Another neighbour said they had massive cracks in their wall this morning after what happened.

Living across the road, resident Amanda Cumming thought a ‘a big lorry’ had come crashing down the street.

Amanda, who has lived in the street for two years, said: ‘It didn’t sound like a gas explosion. I was in the garden having a cigarette, and I heard children screaming, and someone shouting ‘phone the fire brigade’.

The resident said a woman left the property ‘covered in blood’, and the woman’s daughter had to escape by climbing over a garden fence.

Verity praised Portsmouth City Council’s quick response to the emergency, with food, drink, and council staff at hand inside the Fratton church.

She said: ‘PCC have been amazing. I have asked five times if I have somewhere to stay. I cannot say enough how amazing everyone has been.

‘I don’t think it has sunk in yet. I’m hoping we’ll get more information. I feel really sorry (for our neighbour).’

Verity, along with her husband Kevin and their son Nate, have been offered temporary accommodation through their insurance provider.

A woman in her 50s, who has been living on the street for 40 years and did not want to be named, said: ‘I heard a loud sound like a massive bottle bin being emptied and then children screaming.

‘I looked out of the window and I saw a massive cloud of grey dust - you couldn't see down the street.

'I think a lady and her son were walking down the road on the way to school and they were screaming.

‘There could have been lots of kids around because it was the morning school run. I rang the police straight away. It was a real shock and people started rushing out of their houses to see what on earth had happened.

‘We're very concerned for the victims not having a house, especially at Christmas.’

John Plumridge, a 60-year-old business owner who lives on the other side of the street to the collapsed house, said: ‘I saw the house collapsed and that it had also ripped the roof off the one next door - I could see into the attic of the neighbouring house.

‘We were just amazed. I can't think why it would collapse like that, it must be a sink hole or something.’

The city council is working with emergency services to ensure properties are safe, with the aim of residents returning later today, according to a spokesman.

He added: ‘Following the evacuation of houses affected by the collapse of a mid-terrace property in Langford Road, structural engineers for Portsmouth City Council are working with utilities and emergency services to ensure that affected properties are made safe, and a rest centre has been established to provide temporary shelter and welfare support for those who have been displaced.

‘We anticipate that residents will be able to return home later today, following the emergency utilities work. Anyone who cannot return to their home tonight is being supported to find an alternative place to stay.’