Dozens injured in huge Wirral explosion

Police are appealing for video or photographs of the huge explosion at New Ferry in Wirral six weeks ago.

33 people were injured in the explosion. T he cause is still under investigation.

Police are also trying to trace a couple in their fifties or sixties who were seen to help casualties in the aftermath.

Merseyside Police say video and photographs can be supplied in complete confidence. Anyone happy to do so can provide their details to allow officers to take statements and recover the original footage but photographs and video can also be sent anonymously.

Anyone with footage or photographs can email them to new.ferry@merseyside.pnn.police.uk

People affected by the new Ferry explosion last month have staged a protest in the hope they wont be forgotten by government as the General Election gets under way.

Some residents and business owners have been allowed back inside their properties for the first time since the explosion which injured 34 people.

But others fear they will be homeless for months to come.

Shops affected by the suspected gas explosion in Wirral last month have begun to reopen their doors to customers.

A fund has been set up aiming to raise ten thousand pounds to help New Ferry get back on its feet.

But, nine days on, there's still no word from investigators as to the exact cause of the blast, and some remain without access to their homes and businesses, as our Merseyside correspondent Andy Bonner reports.

A meeting will be held tonight to update residents and businesses affected by the explosion in New Ferry on the Wirral. Despite the cordon being reduce, many have been unable to return to their properties for over a week. Two people were seriously injured in the explosion on Saturday 25th March.

Merseyside Police, Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service, Wirral Council, the Health and Safety Inspectorate and National Grid continue their joint investigation into the cause of the explosion.

The meeting will take place at 5:30pm at St Mark's Church Hall on New Chester Road in New Ferry.

Children at a school in Wirral have been showing their determination to help rebuild the community affected by the explosion.

Some youngsters at Grove Street Primary sent their head a letter saying they wanted to raise money for the people whose houses had ''blown down''.

The result was a fundraising football match this afternoon and our reporter Victoria Grimes was there.

A support and signposting hub for residents and businesses directly affected by the explosion in Wirral opens in New Ferry Village Hall tomorrow.

The drop-in facility will operate today, Thursday and Friday this week, from 10am-4pm. It is designed to advise people and businesses from New Ferry and Port Sunlight with their ongoing needs.

The hall is at Grove Road, New Ferry, CH62 5AZ. Parking is available on site.

Tonight, traders are meeting with council bosses - desperate for answers about the fate of their buildings, and their livelihoods.

Here's our Merseyside correspondent Andy Bonner: