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Fatal explosion: MP wants drilling rules 'looked at'

Helen Burchell
BBC News, Bedfordshire
Ant Saddington/BBC An aerial shot taken by a drone shows the wreckage of a house in Cleat Hill, a street in Bedford. There are emergency vehicles parked outside. Nearby homes appear undamaged.Ant Saddington/BBC
The fatal explosion completely destroyed a house

An MP has said regulations on drilling boreholes to install heat pumps need to be "looked at" after a fatal explosion at house.

Paul Swales, 85, died and a woman remains in a critical condition after a house exploded in Cleat Hill, Bedford on 19 October.

The blast happened in an area where, on 2 July, contractors struck a pocket of natural gas while drilling a borehole to install a heat pump. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) said in this month's incident, natural gas had escaped from a nearby site.

Now the area's MP, Richard Fuller, has said he will be raising questions with ministers about safety regulations.

Bedfordshire Police Paul Swales looking at the camera. He is balding, sitting in a green chair and wearing a checked shirt.Bedfordshire Police
Paul Swales, 85, died after the explosion and fire

Meanwhile, dozens of residents whose properties were within a 100m cordon around the explosion have still not returned home.

The HSE said it was working on a permanent solution to seal off the borehole and get the escaping gas "under control".

After a public meeting on Monday, Fuller, the Conservative MP for North Bedfordshire, said: "It came as a shock to me that people could drill so deeply into a garden and no-one needs to know about it.

"It's what's called 'permitted development', so I'm going to raise some questions with ministers, as in, 'is there a gap here in regulations":[]}