Two explosions at Leamington Costcutter

**Two explosions occurred at a Costcutter in Leamington Spa at around 6.40pm today.**

The explosions, which happened at the store on High Street/Church Street, were reportedly caused by two gas canisters being knocked against the heating unit.

Barry Colledge, 31, who works in a warehouse in Leamington, was waiting to be served when the explosion happened.

He said that the second bang was bigger than the first and that there was a five to ten second gap between the explosions. A fire started but staff quickly put it out with a fire extinguisher.

“The guy behind the counter’s beard burnt off,” he said, referring to the store owner who was closest to the explosion when it happened.


The student-occupied flat above the shop was filled with smoke as a result of the explosion.

Jack Trowsdale, third-year maths student, said that his bedroom was directly above where the explosion took place.

He heard a loud bang and said “it was a really large explosion”.

The fire crew entered the student property at around 6.50pm to extract the smoke. A fireman on the scene confirmed that no one was hurt, either through burns or smoke inhalation.

The flat of the seven students living above was filled with smoke, though out of the five of them at home at the time none of them were hurt.