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Family's terror at fridge that went bang in the night
A WOMAN has spoken of her terror after her fridge exploded like a bomb leaving a path of devastation through her house.
Kathy Cullingworth, 55, was woken up with a fright in the early hours of the morning by the mysterious bang caused by the household appliance - the cause of which is still being investigated.
Radiators were ripped from their fixings, ceilings and walls were left covered in cracks and cupboards were destroyed with food strewn across the kitchen.
Kathy, of Normanton, West Yorkshire, said: "I didn't have a clue what was going on, there was an almighty explosion and the whole house shook - it felt like an earthquake.
"I thought that a bomb had gone off, or that a lorry had run into my house - I could hear glass smashing downstairs."
Kathy and her 28-year-old son Antony flew out of their bedrooms and went downstairs to find a trail of destruction leading from the hallway into the kitchen.
Mum-of-two Kathy said: "We peered into the hallway and saw that the radiator had come away from the wall, the lamp shade had cracked into the opposite wall and there were ornaments smashed on the floor.
"I was in a state of panic, I had no idea what was going on, Antony and I were still half asleep."
They tried to open the kitchen door but something was wedging it shut. Antony forced it open and they found the source of the commotion - their fridge had exploded open, tearing through the kitchen.
Antony, a painter and decorator, said: "I had to push my way through into the kitchen, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw what had happened. The window was smashed and there was food and mess everywhere."
Kathy, a secretary for the NHS, said: "The doors of the fridge had come clean off and had been catapulted to the other side of the room. There was food verywhere, the microwave was damaged and most of my kitchen cupboards."
Kathy rang the fire brigade who came to her house within minutes and assessed the situation, the electricity was turned off.
She said: "The fire officer looked at the debris and after they had examined everything they couldn't tell me what had happened - he said in 30 years he had never seen anything like this."
The fridge, a Creada Integrated fridge freezer BM20, was installed in the house in 2001 and was under warranty but there is still a mystery to what caused the blast.
Kathy said: "There was nothing in the fridge that could have caused the
explosion, it just had fresh food and vegetables in it - no alcohol or fizzy drinks that could have fermented or blown up."
Kathy and her son are recovering after the initial shock are just relieved that neither of them were hurt.
She said: "If either of us had been in the kitchen, we wouldn't just be dead, we would be in pieces."
Kathy had to clean up all the mess herself, she has had to make do with two small fridges in her kitchen to put the everyday essentials, but the old fridge is waiting to be picked up by the manufacturer.
She said: "I would like some answers to what happened, I think we are really lucky that no-one was hurt, but this shouldn't have happened."
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Weather for Yorkshire
Saturday 11 February 2012
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