UNDERGROUND explosions blowing heavy manhole covers into the air made the news this week but not for the first time.

Click here to read our story from earlier this week when 11 manhole covers in Linthwaite were blown from the ground.

It was even more dramatic in the late 1950s when explosions turned manhole covers into missiles in Huddersfield town centre on a stretch from Shorehead to the top of King Street

These great photos were sent to us by Examiner reader David Whitworth from Mount.

The 75-year-old worked for Yorkshire Electricity for 34 years, based mainly at its Lindley depot.

He joined the company in 1962 but a colleague gave him these photographs showing the aftermath of the 1950s blasts.

Click on the link below to see the amazing 1950s photos.

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David said: "One cover was lifted right into the air and came down on an Austin A35, completely smashing it. Windows were also shattered."

He thinks the explosions were caused by electricity cables sparking underground gas.

The same reason is thought to have sparked a similar incident in Linthwaite on Tuesday morning.

Fire crews were called to the Hoyle Ing and Royd House Lane in Linthwaite and one of the manhole covers was even blown over a wall.

The force of the blast could be heard three miles away in Scapegoat Hill.

Police sealed off the road as gas and electricity engineers were called to investigate the cause of the underground explosions.

Initial suggestions indicate a spark from electricity wiring ignited gases beneath the manholes.