A Nottingham man’s garden went up in flames during a fire at the Bulwell electrical substation.
Jason Richardson, 46, of Sankey Drive, lives directly behind the substation.
He said: “When I heard the first bang, I was in the kitchen. I could feel the vibration through my whole body. I looked outside and I saw a big ball of fire and smoke.”
Mr Richardson then called emergency services and went out to the garden to see what had happened.
“I was standing in the yard and another bang hit,” he added. “It was so hard that it pushed me and I fell backwards.”
Mr Richardson’s 17-year-old son was with him at the time of the second explosion.
He said: “My son Jaydon is autistic, he was so scared.”
“I couldn’t cope – I went into my bedroom with the shutters down,” Jaydon said.
The explosions smashed Mr Richardson’s back windows and destroyed his garden.
“My plants are my life,” he said. “Yesterday, this was all so beautiful.”
Marion Williams, 79, who lives next door, said most of the surrounding houses lost power for about an hour and a half.
She said: “I was around during the war and when I heard and felt the explosion – it was like that.”
Kevin Hewes, 53, who lives in neighbouring Hambling Close, said: “I wasn’t home when the explosions happened – I was out doing my shopping. But when I got home I could see a bellow of smoke.
“All the local shops lost power as well – Morrisons, Lloyds Bank, Aldi – all affected. Aldi couldn’t accept cards because there was no power.”
A spokesman for Western Power Distribution said that the cause of the blaze is still unknown and that emergency services were still at the site.
Forty-five nearby industrial properties have lost power and are unlikely to be restored until late on Thursday evening.
Original source: Nottingham Post