Charlotte: gas leak theory over blast

May 16 2008 by Matthew Mckenzie, The Journal

A TEENAGER from the North seriously burned in a huge explosion at her home was not targeted by a girl gang, police said last night.

Detectives now believe the blast which nearly killed Charlotte Anderson, destroyed her flat and killed a neighbour, was caused by a gas leak.

The 17-year-old was badly burned in the incident which police had thought was caused by a girl gang following a row over a love rival.

Charlotte, originally from Longbenton, North Tyneside, could be scarred for life after her flat in Harrow exploded last week.

Last night a spokeswoman for the Metropolitan Police Service said: “We know that a substance was poured through the letterbox of 21 Stanley Road on the morning of May 7. But we are now satisfied that this was not a cause of, nor a contributory factor to, the explosion.”

Det Chief Insp Colin Sutton added: “Witnesses, including some young people who were outside the house have been traced and spoken to.

“None of the information gathered in the past few days supports the theory of explosives, or similar devices, nor a deliberate act to cause an explosion. Although there was no gas appliance in use at No. 21, there was a supply – and a meter – which had been unused for some years.

“Preliminary indications are that a large volume of gas may have passed through the meter on May 7, and it is this which has now become the focus of our investigation, which we are conducting hand in hand with the Health & Safety Executive.”

Charlotte’s mother Elaine Leonard, 41, travelled from her home in Cramlington, Northumberland, earlier this week to be by her side in a London hospital.

The explosion ripped through the Victorian terrace at 9.30pm, flattening three homes and killing Emad Qureshi, 26, who was crushed to death by falling rubble. Charlotte was dragged from the debris by a passer-by.

The former pupil of Balliol Primary School in Longbenton, North Tyneside, left the North East eight years ago and was placed in foster care in London.

But she has always stayed in touch with her mother, older sister Gemma Nesbitt, 21, and brother Stephen Anderson, 22, and made regular visits to Tyneside. For the past few months Charlotte had been living in a flat in Harrow, attending college in preparation for a childcare course.