A MASSIVE blast has blown a Huddersfield house apart.

The explosion devastated the house which is being renovated in Longley – and police later revealed a man was found burned and wandering around confused in Ing Lane, Newsome, a short time later.

He is in his 20s and had suffered burns to his hands and face.

He was taken to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary and later transferred to a specialist burns unit at Pinderfields.

His condition is not thought to be life-threatening.

Debris was scattered almost 100ft in Fanny Moor Lane after neighbours reported hearing a loud bang just after 11.30pm.

The cottage, one of four in the block, is this morning being looked at by structural engineers because the huge amount of damage to the home. It could have to be demolished.

Fire investigators, police and experts from gas supplier Transco and Yorkshire Electricity have all visited the scene to try and assess the cause of the incident.

About 20 firefighters from Huddersfield, Brighouse, Holmfirth and Huddersfield’s aerial platform fought the blaze and spent about three hours at the scene.

Crew Manager Stephen Shaw of Huddersfield fire station said it was an extremely serious incident.

“When we arrived at the scene, the middle cottage of a block of four was well alight,’’ he said. “Every door and window had been blown out. The first floor was completely destroyed and the rear wall had large cracks in it.

“It was too dangerous to go inside as the roof was hanging. Structural engineers were called in.”

Crew Manager Shaw said he had been told that ambulance crews had treated a man with serious burns some way away from the seen.

He believed he had been taken to hospital.

The block of houses is believed to be a former stable block. The damaged property is believed to have been under renovation, while the others were derelict.

Police and fire investigators are trying to trace the owners.