Blast victim says sorry to rescuers.

Byline: By Kevin Donald

A 93-year-old woman carried from smouldering wreckage after a blast wrecked her home told rescuers: "I was only making a cup of tea."

A massive gas explosion ripped Dorothy Bland's terraced house apart, blowing the debris 100 yards.

Four cars parked outside were wrecked by flying masonry and four sets of neighbours on either side were evacuated.

Widow Dorothy was found by neighbours standing in her wrecked kitchen with flames roaring around her.

Her clothes were smoking as she was carried clear but she managed a smile and apologetically explained that she had been making tea.

She suffered serious burns and head injuries in the blast which happened on Sunday night and is being treated in the intensive care unit at Newcastle General Hospital.

Structural engineers said her home in Sackville Road, Heaton, Newcastle, may have to be demolished.

Dorothy's next-door neighbour, Margaret Humes, 38, was in her bedroom and getting ready for bed when she heard the blast.

She said: "I thought a bomb had gone off, the whole house shook and I thought the windows would come in.

"When I looked out of the front I could see there was glass everywhere and the four cars parked next to mine were smashed to pieces. I ran outside and Dorothy's front window was hanging out of the front of her house. Dorothy was standing surrounded by flames, silhouetted by the fire.

"We shouted to her to get out but she is as deaf as a post and she just stood there.

"Three of the men went in to get her and carried her out like a baby.

"She was smiling when they brought her out and she said: `I was only making a cup of tea.'

"Her hair was singed and her pinny was smouldering. You could smell the explosion and my husband went into her house with a fire extinguisher."

Neighbour Robert Crawford, 59, who works for Marks and Spencer, helped to rescue Mrs Bland from the remains of her home.

He said: "I climbed through the bay window and saw Mrs Bland. Then two other men managed to get the front door open and came inside.

"We helped her out of the house. She told me she had just gone to make a cup of tea when the explosion happened."

The pensioner lived alone following the death of her husband and had been in the house for more than 25 years.

Next door neighbour Hazel Wilson, 27, and her partner Jonathan Ponton, 29, who run a building firm, said they had been told parts of their new home might have to be demolished.

Newcastle City Council building control surveyor Paul Nichol said: "We secured the area and we are trying to establish the extent of the damage to the property and adjacent properties.

"There is a distinct possibility it may have to be demolished."

Fire Brigade divisional officer Mick English said: "The investigation is still ongoing, but early indications are that it appears to have been a gas leak."