Explosion at north London property leaves man with serious burns

Three police officers - two of them female - were injured and a man is critically ill following an explosion in north London.

The three police officers went to hospital for treatment but their injuries are not thought to be serious.

Police, fire and ambulance services attended an address in Stapleton Hall Road, near Finsbury Park, north-east London, following a "localised explosion" at around midday on Wednesday.

Soon after police arrived, a large explosion ripped through the property, leaving the basement, ground floor and a shed in the back garden in flames.

The London ambulance service said it had sent a number of ambulance crews including a hazardous area response team to the scene, and dispatched an air ambulance. I saw big smoke and police shouting for people to move backwards and out of the way because there was an explosion. We await further details.

A Met spokesman said it was understood that bailiffs were at the house along with the suspect's family. "He's lived in that house his whole life".

The property has been evacuated as a precaution, but no other properties have been affected. One person had managed to get out the house before the Brigade arrived.

Lindsey Masters, who lives nearby, said she could see smoke around a house, and that part of the road had been closed off to cars and pedestrians between the intersecting Granville Road and Albany Road. Scotland Yard said the incident was not being treated as terrorism related.

The cause of the explosion is not yet known and there have been no arrests.