:00:09. > :00:13.It's emerged National Grid were called out to the scene
:00:14. > :00:16.of Wirral's suspected gas explosion the day before the blast.
:00:17. > :00:19.Although no trace of gas was found by its engineers,
:00:20. > :00:22.they say they'd received several other reports of a gas smell from
:00:23. > :00:28.Two people are seriously ill in hospital tonight and more
:00:29. > :00:43.The site of a dance school in New Ferry, now a scene of devastation.
:00:44. > :00:47.At quarter past nine last night, an explosion destroyed the building,
:00:48. > :00:50.causing several others nearby to collapse. Thankfully, there was no
:00:51. > :00:54.one inside of the dance school at the time but a Chinese restaurant
:00:55. > :01:00.across the road was packed with customers. Next minute, pitch black,
:01:01. > :01:04.boom. All of the lights were out and debris everywhere, people went under
:01:05. > :01:12.the tables, screaming and shouting. It was horrendous, hysterical. The
:01:13. > :01:19.ceiling caved in, Walls came down. Everyone was screaming. Windows
:01:20. > :01:26.shattered everywhere. The police arrived. We tried to push people
:01:27. > :01:30.away. You can get a sense of how awful the blast was when you see the
:01:31. > :01:34.red bricks that rained down on the car park more than 150 metres away
:01:35. > :01:39.from the scene. Over 30 people were injured and to
:01:40. > :01:42.remain in a serious condition in hospital. 50 properties were
:01:43. > :01:46.evacuated and many people came to this church which opened their
:01:47. > :01:51.doors. Theoretically it is the hub for the whole operation, the medical
:01:52. > :01:55.teams and police, and for the wider community to meet. So we were
:01:56. > :02:00.putting on coffee and tea or leaving for them. Paramedics were using this
:02:01. > :02:06.room as a triage centre, where they were bandaging people who were sick.
:02:07. > :02:09.A number of people in the area reported smelling gas in recent
:02:10. > :02:14.days, and the National Grid said it responded to calls on Friday night
:02:15. > :02:17.but found no evidence of a leak. In a statement, Merseyside Police
:02:18. > :02:20.say an investigation into the cause of the blast is underway.
:02:21. > :02:23.Just before we went on air - we had this latest update
:02:24. > :02:32.Police are doing an investigation, we need to let that run its course
:02:33. > :02:36.but the council are working with other agencies to do everything we
:02:37. > :02:40.can to help those who have been evacuated. We arranged overnight
:02:41. > :02:46.accommodation and have given them food and support, at local church
:02:47. > :02:51.centres today. We are doing all we can to make sure people are looked
:02:52. > :02:55.after, especially those who have been evacuated from their own
:02:56. > :02:59.houses. A lot of people, we can see some here, wanting to go and get
:03:00. > :03:04.things, is there an indication of when this area will return to
:03:05. > :03:07.normal? We need to let the police investigate and the investigation
:03:08. > :03:10.will be done as quickly as possible will be done as quickly as possible
:03:11. > :03:16.but we need to reassure people in the meantime if they need help, they
:03:17. > :03:22.should phone 101, the police line which has been set up, and if they
:03:23. > :03:27.have queries, call that number and in the meantime, the council, with
:03:28. > :03:30.other agencies, they will give every possible support to residents and
:03:31. > :03:36.people who have been affected. Finally, I am blown away by the
:03:37. > :03:38.community spirit, people have pulled together in New Ferry, it is a great
:03:39. > :03:40.tribute to the local area. The family of a four-year-old girl
:03:41. > :03:44.who died following a hit and run Violet Grace Youens died last
:03:45. > :03:47.night after being struck by a black Ford Fiesta
:03:48. > :03:52.on Prescot Road on Friday. Violet's family say they've
:03:53. > :03:54.donated some of her organs following her death to give other
:03:55. > :03:56.children "a chance to lead Detectives have released CCTV images
:03:57. > :04:02.of two males they want to trace. A woman has died and four
:04:03. > :04:05.others were rescued Firefighters were called out
:04:06. > :04:08.to the blaze on Stramongate Two people were taken to hospital,
:04:09. > :04:12.but a 67-year-old woman later Detectives have arrested
:04:13. > :04:16.a 38-year-old man in connection with the incident and are
:04:17. > :04:18.appealing for witnesses. Sport now and Manchester boxer
:04:19. > :04:21.Anthony Crolla has failed to regain the WBA lightweight title
:04:22. > :04:23.against Jorge Linares of Venezuela. Once again, Crolla lost
:04:24. > :04:25.on a unanimous points decision in front of 15,000 fans
:04:26. > :04:33.at the Manchester Arena. Surgery on Everton defender
:04:34. > :04:35.Seamus Coleman's broken right He suffered a double
:04:36. > :04:38.break following a tackle during the Republic
:04:39. > :04:40.of Ireland's World Cup Republic of Ireland manager said
:04:41. > :04:45.Martin O'Neill no timescale has been Manchester City Women
:04:46. > :04:47.reached their third consecutive Nikita Parris scored
:04:48. > :04:50.in the 89th minute - Liverpool ladies are also through -
:04:51. > :04:55.after beating Notts It's been a gorgeous day today -
:04:56. > :05:08.let's see if the weather's set Good evening, another lovely day
:05:09. > :05:12.with lovely spells of sunshine. Into the evening, that sunshine will
:05:13. > :05:14.translate into clear skies, but there will be some more in the way
:05:15. > :05:18.of cloud, patches of mist and fog of cloud, patches of mist and fog
:05:19. > :05:22.form as well. Temperatures overnight drop down to about 5 degrees.
:05:23. > :05:26.Though, a chilly starting places tomorrow morning, we should see
:05:27. > :05:30.spells of sunshine, but a bit more in the way of cloud as we go through
:05:31. > :05:36.the day. Brightness rather than sunny spells. In the afternoon, but
:05:37. > :05:40.it feels warm. Temperatures at 13 or 14 degrees. Once again, a light
:05:41. > :05:45.breeze from the south-east. Through the rest of the week, things turn
:05:46. > :05:48.more unsettled. Showers in the forecast on Tuesday, some of those
:05:49. > :05:51.could be heavy with spells of sunshine as well.
:05:52. > :05:55.I will be back just after 10:20pm with more news and weather. Join me
:05:56. > :05:58.then, goodbye.