Leeds house explosion: Neighbours came to aid of men injured in blast

Emergency services were called to Silk Mill Drive in Tinshill shortly before 3pm today.

Stephen Marham, who lives three doors away, said: "I was upstairs talking to my wife. I just heard a massive bang and the house shook.

"My initial reaction was to run downstairs but as I got to the bottom I could see the flats. My partner just screamed 'the flat's gone'."

Video: Dramatic images show house destroyed in Leeds explosionMr Marham said he ran out of the house and saw a man struggling towards him.

"I could see he had been caught up in it," he said. "It was the man who lived in the flat. He was in a bit of a mess so I laid him on the floor in the recovery position.

"I took my jacket off and got a blanket. Another neighbour got one. He's been very, very lucky.

"There were two individuals in the house when it exploded."

He added: "I went into auto-pilot you don't think about the consequences. I knew not to do anything heroic. I could smell gas after it had blown."

A Yorkshire Ambulance Service spokeswoman said three ambulances and the Hazardous Area Response Team had been dispatched.

She said two patients had now been taken to Leeds General Infirmary.