Ipswich: Man in critical but stable condition after Chantry explosion

By Chris Harris Monday, December 19, 2011
5:48 PM

A BLAST that ripped through an Ipswich flat left one man with serious burns and another homeless.

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The explosion rocked the parade of shops at Ellenbrook Green, Chantry, that sits beneath the flat.

Police initially arrested a man on suspicion of arson but he was released without charge after fire officers put the cause down to a redundant back boiler.

One man, who was in the flat at the time of the blast, at around 10pm on Friday, suffered serious injuries. He was later taken to a specialist burns unit at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, where he is described as being in a critical but stable condition.

The flat’s other tenant – believed to be in his late 30s – was left homeless and spent Friday night at the Belstead Arms pub nearby.

Kevin Watkins, the pub’s landlord, said: “We were sitting upstairs in the pub and we heard a loud explosion. We looked out of the window and there was smoke coming out of the windows.

“I ran over and got a ladder and climbed in but by this time the fire engine and paramedics were here.

“It was black, the place was
devastated. There was a young lad who was severely burned, it was heart-breaking to see him.”

James Calver, 35, who works at the fish and chip shop at Ellenbrook Green, was serving when the blast hit.

He said: “All of a sudden I felt the ground shake, I thought ‘what the heck is that?’. I was wondering if it was a little earthquake tremor.”

Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service said it had put the blaze down to a redundant back boiler in the living room.