EVENTS in the drama of a gas blast which shook Wickwar began just after 3am on a Friday morning in January 1985.

PC Nick Shaw arrived home in High Street and heard a muffled popping noise which he would later compare to the sound of “neighbours falling out of bed”.

“There was a ferocious smell of gas which was odd as I’m all-electric,” he told the Gazette.

After venturing outside and hearing a loud hissing noise emanating from the road, PC Shaw, knowing it sounded like a burst main, contacted 999.

The quick-thinking officer told his wife to go and wait up the road while he darted around the homes of his neighbours to tell them to evacuate.

At 5.52am came the blast which shook the village and was heard three miles away in Charfield.

“There was a huge explosion and the whole street was in flames,” said PC Shaw, whose home was virtually demolished by the blast.

Houses on either side of the road were severely damaged.

Countless windows and roof slates were lost and PC Shaw lost everything.

Firefighters and the gas board arrived to the scene and began a six hour mission to tackle the overwhelming flames, digging down to the pipe as fire shot up around them.

Over the next few days many people on the street were forced to live with family or friends.

The road was closes while workmen replaced the gas main.