'I was sat there having a ciggy when it just went bang and the flat was blown apart'

A dad was thrown off his chair by an explosion that tore through a block of flats as he smoked a cigarette on his balcony. Adam Walker managed to escape with his partner and son when the blast hit his home Skelmersdale last month.

Five people managed to escape the building before the emergency services arrived, and one man attended hospital with non life-threatening burns. Adam, his partner Sophie Croft, 26, and their son Jaxon were among the families forced to evacuate their homes following the explosion.

The 32-year-old told the Liverpool Echo: "I was sat on the balcony when it happened, it threw me off my chair and I ran in grabbed Sophie, grabbed the baby and ran out. I can't explain what the feeling was. I was just sat there having a ciggy - it just went bang. The baby was in the living room, he was asleep - he woke up screaming."

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Photos show how the block of flats on Tanfields was completely blown apart. In one photo, seen by the Echo, a fridge freezer can be seen hanging from the wreckage along with a two seater sofa.

The two flats directly affected by the explosion will be demolished, the council has confirmed, and the people living in them remain in temporary accommodation. Others living in the block have chosen to stay with friends and family.

A letter was sent to residents in the area informing them of the demolition works and any implications this may have. But Adam said despite returning home since the explosion, his family no longer feel safe living there and have put a request in with the council to be moved.

"We were living in my mum's living room for two weeks," he said.