David Claxton reports…
dave@themarlpit.com

Emergency services were called to the scene shortly after 10:15 BST on Tuesday 20th May, after the explosion ripped through The London Tavern pub, in High Street, Coltishall.

Three people were admitted to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital, and were shortly released suffering mainly lacerations.

It is believed Lowery contractors, contracted by BT, noticed the strong stench of gas, called Transco.

Early speculations thought BT were laying Broadband cables, however we know this to be untrue because of The Marlpit’s recent efforts for Broadband in our villages* Our web-team would have been notified.

An engineer for British Telecom explained the purpose of the cables being laid in the trench is ‘to provide relief and additional capacity to the RAF base by adding a number of telephone lines’, and not Broadband as initially reported by local press, (so don't get excited!).

The cellar of the pub is thought to have filled with gas, which was ignited by a fridge, freezer or a cooling system.

A local villager, participating at the weekly Salvation Army Mini-Market had just popped

outside prior to the explosion, and found himself thrown to the ground.

Visitors to the Salvation Army were busy helping out with the clean up of the huge amounts of glass spread tens of meters from the site of the explosion.

Pub landlord, Steven Fuller, was away on business at the time and the tenant living above the pub was at work. Steven Fuller, known as Steve to many locals returned to the scene of devastation later that day.

The tenant living about the pub has found somewhere else to live; however, most of his possessions have been destroyed in the blast. It is also believed his prized motorbike was also destroyed.

Fresh air was later being pumped underground to release gas trapped in surrounding soil.

The site was being strictly monitored by a security company drafted in by the former landlord, Mr Fuller, and has since been boarded up.

Great shock and disappointment also hit the villagers, when news that the pub’s old pub sign had been stolen, and a police investigation was set up to recover it.

*Visit www.themarlpit.com/broadband to help our campaign for Broadband!