A gas explosion that killed a two-year-old boy was caused by a cut gas pipe inside a neighbouring house, police have said.
George Arthur Hinds died in the blast in Heysham, Lancashire, on 16 May. The police inquiry into the incident is ongoing but a Lancashire constabulary spokesperson confirmed it was now being classed as a criminal investigation.
George’s parents, Vicky Studholme and Stephen Hinds, were also injured, but not seriously, and a 44-year-old man and 50-year-old woman remain in hospital with critical injuries.
The spokesperson said detectives, working with gas experts, had conducted a fingertip search of the scene in Mallowdale Avenue and identified the cause of the explosion as a gas pipe that had been cut inside the neighbouring property to the one where George lived with his parents.
In the blast, which happened at 2am, two houses collapsed and a third was seriously damaged, causing debris to cover nearby streets and fields. Residents described it as sounding “like a bomb going off”.
DCI Jane Webb said: “My thoughts first and foremost remain with George’s family and loved ones at this time, as well as those others affected by this incident. An incredible amount of work has been done at the scene in a relatively short space of time, and as well as identifying the source of the explosion we have also managed to recover some items of George’s, which I know means a lot to his parents.
“Our focus now is on trying to establish how and why the pipe inside No 20 came to be cut and those inquiries are complex and lengthy.
“I would like to thank the community for their help so far and I want to continue to appeal to anyone who may have information which could assist our investigation to come forward and contact us.”
