A FAMILY had a lucky escape when a gas explosion ripped through their home as they slept.

The couple and two young children were in bed upstairs at the three-bedroomed house on Bracken Grove, Brackenhall, when there was an explosion in the living-room at 4.15am today.

They managed to escape unhurt, but the house was badly damaged.

Station officer Tony Bateman, of Huddersfield fire station, said: "The explosion blew the windows out, scattering glass up to 60 yards away.

"The force even dislodged the window frame and blew the living-room door off its hinges into the hallway.

"It also blew units off the wall in the kitchen and lifted the ceilings."

The house was boarded up during the night and the family will have to be re-housed.

Engineers from gas company Transco checked the gas mains and pipes leading to the house shortly after the explosion and found them to be working properly.

The Health And Safety Executive is now investigating the cause of the blast inside the house.

Police said there are no suspicious circumstances.