Man, in his 80s, seriously injured in 'explosion' involving gunpowder after 'opening safe with angle grinder'

A man in his 80s has been left seriously injured in an 'explosion' after 'opening a safe containing gunpowder with an angle grinder'.

A huge emergency services presence, including fire crews, paramedics and police, descended on Park Road, Billinge, in Wigan at around 2.37pm on Wednesday afternoon.

It followed reports of an 'explosion' at a house. Greater Manchester Police said that the man was "injured upon opening a domestic item."

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The Manchester Evening News was told at the scene that a safe, containing gunpowder, had been opened using an angle grinder. An air ambulance was scrambled to the scene, and the man was rushed to hospital and has suffered serious leg injuries.

Police said the explosion had been caused by the 'ignition of a flammable substance'. It was later confirmed to pose no threat to the community as the scene was scaled down.

One local resident described the moment the dramatic explosion was heard. "It made quite a bang. We just didn’t know what happened to start with," they said.

"Some of the other neighbours were up there and we were concerned that something had happened. My first thought was it was an explosion.”

Another resident said: “We heard a couple of bangs and then the air ambulance arrived and landed at a field near the house. The emergency services here are quite robust so they got here fast - and it was a big response" as a third person passing the scene added: "It’s such a small community that something like this can have you worried a little bit."

A large cordon was put in place as fire crews, police and paramedics attended. The road remained taped off for a number of hours amid investigations before the scene was made