Witnesses tell of Codsall explosion drama

Witnesses today described the moment an explosion tore through a dental laboratory.

Workers from Aesthetic Dental Laboratory in Codsall fled the building after gas cylinders exploded in an adjacent garage, blowing off its two doors and scattering glass and debris into the road.

Staff at Image Hair Salon, which is next door to the lab in Bilbrook Road, were forced to send customers home half way through cuts, in order to care for people injured in the blast.

Owner Elaine Dean, of Pendeford, said: "We had three to four customers in, as well as around five staff.

"The customers had to leave half way through cuts.

"There was a loud bang and at first we just assumed it was kids from the school banging on the glass.

"But we saw smoke and went outside, and there was black smoke billowing out.

"One of the women was lying on the floor, I recognised her as someone who has worked there for quite a long time.

"We took her and the others into the shop, but when the emergency services arrived they told us we had to get out in case there was a problem with the building, so they took them over to the chemist."

The shop closed after the blast, along with a Tesco Express store in the same row of shops.

Crowds of people started gathering behind a police cordon to get a glimpse of the drama unfolding yesterday afternoon as firefighters tackled a blaze caused by the blast and a woman was airlifted to hospital.

Tracey Howell, whose daughters were at nearby Lane Green First School, said she received a text message saying there was an incident by the school gate.

"But as I went up, we couldn't even get to the school. We had to go all the way round.

"The blast blew out the door and the windows, and apparently the woman inside got hit by the cylinder and it knocked her back."

She added: "From what we hear, there's been some kind of a leak and it's exploded and blown the front of the shop off.

"They didn't know if there was going to be another explosion. There was lots of police and ambulance and we couldn't get to our house because it was all blocked off."

Another witness, who did not want to be named, said: "We didn't hear anything at the time but when we came along the road we saw all the blue flashing lights.

"I just saw the crowds gathering and came over to see what was going on."

Councillor Valerie Chapman, chairman of Bilbrook Parish Council, said: "My phone did not stop ringing all afternoon with people calling to ask what was happening.

"We are just a sleepy little village and this is normally such a quiet road.

"We don't do big dramas. It is really such a shame.

"Our thoughts are now with the woman who was injured. We hope she is okay."

Motorist Sarah Astbury was heading into Bilbrook when she became stuck in tailbacks on Pendeford Mill Lane which stretched back to Duck Lane.

She said: "It's very unusual for the area to be quite as congested. I thought something was happening but it looked quite serious. I saw lots of police and ambulance there."

Matt Harris who owns Lucianos Pizza in Bilbrook Road, said: "According to some of the customers one lady was thrown through the front window.

"When I arrived the police were not letting anyone into the road. It is a big shock to arrive and see a scene like that."

Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service were at the scene last night along with structural engineers.

A spokesman said: "We had a call to a building fire, which we received at 2.40pm. The call came from the premises itself."

An ambulance service spokesman said the Hazardous Area Response Team and an emergency doctor attended the scene, as well as the Midlands Air Ambulance from Cosford and a rapid response vehicle and two crews.

By Victoria Nash