'Almighty bang' as gas explosion reduces house to rubble

An elderly woman has managed to escape without major injuries after a gas explosion reduced her detached house to rubble.

Emergency services rushed to the scene on Penn Road in Wolverhampton at 8.15am following the blast.

Firefighters found the 76-year-old pensioner had been trapped in the rubble of the gated £200,000 property.

The elderly woman was rescued from the wreckage almost two hours after the blast. She was taken to New Cross Hospital and was found to have suffered cuts and bruises and a broken ankle. Ambulance services say she was 'extraordinarily lucky' not to have been more seriously injured.

Dramatic pictures show the house reduced to rubble in between two unaffected two-storey houses.

The explosion was so severe that two drivers who were passing the scene when it happened suffered minor injuries.

Residents described the sound of the explosion, with some saying they thought a bomb had detonated.