County Durham mum and girls avoided house explosion after 'last minute' decision

A County Durham mum of two has said she and her daughters are lucky to be alive after a last-minute decision meant they were not at home when their neighbour's house was decimated in an explosion this week.

Grace Porter, 34, was just hours from moving into her new home with her two young daughters when she received the news that her neighbour's property had been destroyed in an explosion.

Her neighbour's home, on Coronation Terrace in Willington, was reduced to rubble by the blast in the early hours of Monday (June 24) morning.

The occupier, a man in his 40s, was rushed to hospital where he remains fighting for his life but his dog, an Alsatian named Kaiser, sadly died.

Luckily, a last-minute decision to stay with a friend on Sunday evening meant that Grace and her girls were not at home at the time.

But, the tragic incident has still caused the family including her daughters to lose the possessions they had brought to the home in anticipation of the move.

House explosion on Coronation Terrace, Willington. (Image: TERRY BLACKBURN)

Grace told the Echo: “It’s been an absolutely crazy week – very surreal. I just so happened to be staying at a friend's on Sunday night. It was a last-minute decision at teatime - my children were with their father at the time.

“We decided they would stay with their dad for one more night but we were supposed to be at our new home in Willington.

“Then, early on Monday morning, I woke up with three missed calls from the police. I set off and was greeted by a scene of devastation - I was in utter shock and disbelief.

“Firefighters took me in and I had to grab a few essentials and then I left again.

“There were electric cables in my garden, the roof had come in. I just knew where the girl's bedroom is where the impact hit from the explosion.

“I just keep thinking, it’s so very easy that we could’ve been in that house.”

Grace added that her neighbour, who remains in a critical condition in hospital, is a “a really nice guy” who got on “really well” with her daughters. Only last week he was helping tidy up her garden ahead of the move-in.

The decision was made by Grace not to tell her daughters about the explosion in an effort to protect them. But, she explained the girls have already been wondering where their things are.

Grace explained: “I’m somehow going to have to explain why their toys and favourite teddies, the fluffy cushion they sleep with every night aren’t at the new house.

“All of these things – their school clothes, reading diary. I picked them up from school this week and my youngest asked me ‘where is Koala?’ and I just had to say I had forgotten it.

“I can’t even process how I am going to deal with that. I am just so grateful I decided not to be at home that night.”

The home which exploded on Coronation Terrace in Willington. (Image: NORTHERN ECHO)

Following the blast, Grace's twin sister Tracy set up a GoFundMe with a target of £1,000 in an effort to get the family back on their feet.

But, an outpouring of support has seen the fundraiser soar and has so far raised over £3,600.

Grace said: “It was originally just going to be enough to get things like cutlery and buy things like lunch boxes for the girls.

View of the explosion on Coronation Terrace. (Image: TERRY BLACKBURN)

“But, it has been so crazy to see the amount of people offering their support, time, a shoulder to cry on, a cup of coffee.

“It has just been incredible – I am blown away at people’s generosity and the care they have shown our family even from people who don’t even know us.

“When we do get back on our feet I hope I can pay this back to them.”

Since the ordeal, Grace and her family have been able to secure a new home in Richmond - as she says she is looking forward to this "new chapter" in their lives.

To donate to the fundraiser, click here.