A BLAZE that destroyed a York flat was caused by a gas leak, fire investigators have revealed.

Twenty five firefighters tackled the fire, which broke out yesterday afternoon in a downstairs flat in Station Road, Haxby.

As reported previously, a man was taken to York Hospital suffering from minor burns and smoke inhalation after making a miraculous escape through the front window of the property.

Neighbours told how they heard a loud bang before the flat burst into flames – and yesterday North Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service confirmed the fire was caused by “a gas leak on the supply to the first floor flat”.

When contacted by The Press, a spokesman for Northern Gas Networks said it appeared the incident had been caused by an internal issue within one of the properties.

He said: “Our engineers were called out to an explosion at a block of flats at Station Road, Haxby in York on Tuesday evening.

“We switched off gas supplies to six properties while the fire service tackled the blaze.

“We carried out an investigation at the scene and determined that there were no problems on our gas network that could have caused the explosion.

“The incident would appear to have been caused by an internal issue within one of the properties.”

He said gas supplies were restored to four of the flats later that evening and the occupants of the remaining two flats had been advised to make their own arrangements to restore supplies, following checks by a registered gas engineer.

He said: “This was a serious incident, and our engineers responded promptly and professionally to assist the fire service.”