Woman badly hurt in 'gas explosion' at Staffordshire holiday lodge

A woman suffered serious burns in a suspected gas blast that destroyed a holiday log cabin in Staffordshire.

A blaze, which broke out after the blast at about 12:45 GMT near Alton Towers, took nearly an hour to put out, said Staffordshire fire service.

The woman was airlifted to Birmingham's Queen Elizabeth Hospital major trauma unit. No-one else was hurt, West Midlands Ambulance Service said.

Three properties were damaged, a service spokesperson added.

Crews from Longton and Hanley were sent out to tackle the blaze, the fire service said.

"Emergency services carried out a search in the area to make sure everyone was accounted for in the neighbouring properties," it said in a statement.

"A woman, in her 50s, suffered serious burns at the scene. She was taken to hospital by air ambulance.

"As a result of the explosion, the building was destroyed. Gas engineers came out and isolated the supply to make sure the area was left safe."

Alan Burton, a local resident, said the explosion was "very loud" and he thought a "plane had come down."

An investigation into the cause of the blast is under way and emergency services remain at the scene.