Two in hospital after explosion at flat in Port Glasgow

Two people are in hospital and homes have been evacuated after an explosion at a flat.

The emergency services and Scotland Gas Networks engineers were called to the property in Highholm Street in Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, at about 2.25pm on Thursday.

A man and a woman were taken to Inverclyde Royal Hospital for treatment following the incident.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: “The extent of their injuries is not known but they are believed to be non-life threatening.”

Several houses in the area were evacuated as the building was thought to be unsafe.

Those affected have not yet been allowed to return to their homes and arrangements are being made for alternative accommodation, police said.

A spokeswoman for the gas company said: “Engineers from Scotland Gas Networks were called to a property in Highholm Street, Port Glasgow, this afternoon following reports of an explosion.

“We arrived quickly, made safe, and assisted the emergency services with their investigations. We have now left the site.

“Until these investigations have been completed, it is too early to speculate as to what has happened.”