Rescue teams are searching through the rubble of three cottages in North London today after a gas blast ripped through them, killing one man.

Two homes in South Harrow, North-East London, were completely destroyed and another badly damaged in the explosion, which occurred at 9.38pm last night.

Paramedics were called to Stanley Road where they pronounced one man dead at the scene and took two other people to hospital with serious injuries.

The blast occurred less than a mile from a block of flats where there was another gas explosion in February. Then, a man was airlifted to hospital with serious injuries and dozens of residents were evacuated following the blast in Drinkwater Road.

Phil Redmond, who has lived in Stanley Road for 10 years, came downstairs to discover his front door had been blown off.

“I feared for my life", the courier company manager said.

“I was just putting the kids to bed. The wife was at a meeting - thank God she was out of the house.”

He added: “I’ve never heard a bang like it. I did not know what it was the kids came running in to me screaming.

“I threw some clothes on them and we ran straight downstairs. Bits of rubble were still falling off next door and people were in the street searching for survivors.”

Mr Redmond left his three daughters with a neighbour and went back to help with the search before the emergency services arrived.

He said that two houses on the street were completely destroyed and another was badly damaged.

“The houses at 19, 21 and 23 were all or partially destroyed,” he said.

A 26-year-old man suffering from serious head injuries was taken to hospital in north-west London. A 17-year-old woman with severe burns was taken to Chelsea and Westminster hospital.

The fire service said today they were still searching the rubble.

Six fire engines, four ambulances, a paramedic fast response team and a hazardous area response team were sent to the scene.

National Grid, which is responsible for the gas supply system to the street, remained on site throughout the night.

A spokeswoman said the pipes leading to the house had been checked and the supply isolated.

“We found no trace of a gas leak in our system but we will continue to have a very small presence on site,” she said.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) today sent inspectors to South Harrow in an effort to find the cause of the explosion.

Scotland Yard said it had not ruled out the possibility of a murder inquiry. A spokesman said the cause of the explosion had “yet to be established” and added that officers from the Specialist Crime Directorate were investigating.

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