05/02/2014 Look East - East

Hello, I'm Simon Newton. First tonight, more on the gas explosion

at Clacton that destroyed homes and left two people seriously ill in

hospital. 20 homes were evacuated and a local primary school was

closed. He falls of the explosion was huge. It left two semidetached

homes in ruins. One totally obliterated. From the air the scale

of the devastation is clear. The blast tore through the house as this

man was driving his children to school. A lady was severely burnt.

Another gentleman helped to get her out. It was just chaos. The woman

was taken to hospital in Chelmsford with severe burns. A man in his 70s

was airlifted to the hospital with life`threatening injuries. Eight

others were taken to hospital by road. It sounded like a bomb going

off. An earthquake. Windows shook and debris came in. The police have

just allowed us up to the scene of the explosion. There is devastation

for hundreds of yards around the house. Bits of building lying on the

street, solar panels smashed and wreckage everywhere. The blast broke

windows and tore down otters. Around 20 homes were evacuated as engineers

worked to make the area safe. Late this afternoon contract has began

demolition work. Essex firefighters save the force of this last was

immense. Well, our reporter Mariam Issimdar

is with me. Mariam, ten people were injured. What's their condition

tonight? Two of those people were seriously injured. A man in his 70s

and a woman in her 50s. The night they are in hospital where their

condition is described as stable, but they have both enjoy life

changing injuries. The other eight people were taken to Colchester

General Hospital. Seven of them have been released and one is remaining

in hospital for observation. And what has the Fire Service said was

the cause? There is a strong suspicion there was a gas leak. It

would be unlikely that it was anything other than gas that could

cause an explosion like this. Today the UK's official gas safety body

could not emphasise enough the importance of having gas appliances

maintained. Badly maintained appliances can cause explosions,

along with carbon monoxide poisoning. We advise having

appliances serviced every year. Many residents who were evacuated are

spending the night with friends and families. Thank you.

A Harlow man who threatened to bomb a mosque has been jailed for 12

months. Nigel Flanaghan had drunk three litres of vodka before

dialling 999 to issue his fake bomb warning. Chelmsford Crown Court

heard that officers arrived at his address while Flanaghan was still on

his mobile talking to the control room.

Opponents of a new bypass to the north of Norwich say they may take

legal action against the County Council. The multi`million pound

scheme will be the subject of a public enquiry later this year. But

critics say their views were not included in the application sent to

the Government. The County Council says all the responses it received

were properly logged. Police searching for a man who went

missing in Norfolk have found a body. 26`year`old Alan Morrison was

reported missing from his home in Hevingham last night. The body was

found this morning in woodland near the A140.

This year about 50,000 young people in this region will start an

apprenticeship. Figures released today show the number of places and

the number of applicants are both rising. The official figures are

taken after the school summer holidays. Between 2012 and 2013 the

number of applications went up by nearly 10,000 across the Look East

region. In the same period the number of apprenticeship vacancies

rose by more than 600 to nearly 3,500.

Our economy may be on the mend, but employment is still high. This is

one reason why the government has been spending more money on

apprenticeships. But across the economy there is a genuine need to

train our young people. There is a huge skills shortage. This company

has a training academy in great Yarmouth. Over the past year student

numbers have gone up from 30 to 200. There is an increase in the need for

wind turbines. The feature is bright for the next couple of years. This

apprenticeship `` this apprentice is in her third year. She has plenty of

prospects. I can go anywhere in the world. There are a lot of

opportunities. Apprenticeships remain in demand. Over the past year

applications have risen by 33%. With an average of 12 applicants for

every vacancy, the government is urging more employers to come

forward and offer apprenticeships. Colchester Castle will not be

reopening to the public in time for the Easter holidays after all. The

museum has been closed for nearly a year for a ?4 million face`lift. It

was hoped it would open next month, but it will now re`open on May

second. Now the weather. A few showers moving through

overnight, but the most of us it will be tried with some clear

spells. The winds will eventually ease and that will prevent

temperatures from falling below five Celsius. Some showers in the

morning, but for most of us a dry start. There will be some sunshine,

but the crowd will eventually the can. Temperatures around average. ``

the cloud. It will be a wet afternoon and the rain will continue

throughout the evening and tomorrow night. Some of it will be heavy and

we could see up to and inch of rain in places. On Friday another cloudy

day with outbreaks of rain and eight blustery westerly wind.

As you have just heard, the little respite between one storm system and

another and it is that cumulative effect which will cause further

problems in the coming days with risks of flooding and further damage

and destruction. This area of cloud is Saturday's potential stormy

weather. Before that we have clout to the north west of Spain and

Portugal which will come our way tomorrow. That is hot on the heels

of this area of cloud. It is still with us at the moment. The winds are

easing down, but there are still some gusty winds in the central

belt. It is wet and windy in Shetland, but compared to today the

winds will be much lighter. It will be a chilly night into tomorrow

morning with a touch of frost here and there. For Scotland, Northern

Ireland and northern parts of England it should be pleasant enough

Ireland and northern parts of with dry and bright weather. For the