Ananova:

A pensioner had an amazing escape after a gas blast blew apart his home when he tried to make a cup of tea.

Jimmy Brown, 70, had just returned from a walk with his dog Bessie when he lit a gas ring to make a cuppa - and his 500-year-old stone cottage exploded.

The spectacular blast demolished the entire front of his house, hurled masonry 50ft into the air and filled the street with rubble and glass.

But because Jimmy was at the epicentre of the explosion it hurled all the debris away from him and he suffered only cuts and bruises.

Terrified neighbours rushed from their homes to see the pensioner stepping out over the remains of his house in Malmesbury, Wiltshire.

Amazingly, he then ventured back into the house to search for his corgi-terrier cross - and emerged through the flames moments later cradling it in his arms.

Libby Davis, 21, a waitress who lives 10 doors away, felt her whole house shake in the blast, reports the Daily Mail.

She said: "Everybody ran into the street because it felt like an earthquake. There must have been about 75 people looking to see what the noise was.

"The whole front of the house has just disappeared and what is left is being held up by the two houses on either side.

"It looks like a war zone in a Hollywood movie and we just can't believe that Jimmy walked away with no injuries. His dog was just a little bit singed.

"It is an absolute miracle. It is very neighbourly around here and we will all be making sure he is okay. He was right in the middle of the blast and he survived, it is unbelievable."