Fridge explosion like an 'earthquake'

A family-of-six was upstairs at the time of the dramatic early morning blast in Chartley Road, West Bromwich, but were all unhurt despite extensive damage to the property.

The blast shattered glass, smashed front and back doors, blew holes in the ceiling and ripped the roof from the conservatory.

Mother-of-four Carline Preece, aged 44, said today she thought an earthquake had struck. "The doors were ripped in half, the front door has a gaping hole in it and all the windows were blown open by the force," she said. "The conservatory roof is in shards and there is a crack in every part of the ceiling."

It is not yet known what caused the explosion, which happened just four days after the £600 Samsung appliance had been repaired.

Mrs Preece said a worker from British Gas, which holds the warranty, had been called out last week to fix a broken thermostat on the four-year-old appliance.

The family was today waiting for the damage to be assessed by insurers and hoping to have the cause of the explosion assessed. Fire crews from West Bromwich were called out to make sure the area was safe.

Mrs Preece, aged 44, was in the bathroom when the explosion happened shortly after 6am on Saturday, while her 45-year-old husband Michael, a facilities manager, and their four children Breanne, 10, Zara, seven, Amber, five, and 16-month-old Lesharna were all safely in bed.

"It took me about four or five inches off the floor," she said. "It was frightening and it was just lucky no-one was downstairs. I thought it was an earthquake. We're still waiting to find out what went wrong. The fire brigade said they had never seen anything like it."

Rhys Jones, spokesman for British Gas, said: "Customer safety is paramount and we are relieved that Mr and Mrs Preece were unharmed during this incident.

"We have conducted an initial investigation of the applicance and are satisfied that the work carried out by our engineer was satisfactory.

"A British Gas senior technical manager also attended Mr and Mrs Preece's property on Sunday to ensure that they were happy with the way the matter is being dealt with.

"British Gas will alert the appliance manufacturer and HSE about the incident and will input to any subsequent insurance claim where required."