Neighbours tell of 'terrible shock' as investigation into Wythenshawe house blast that killed 91-year-old continues

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Neighbours have told of their shock following the death of a 91-year-old man in a house explosion in Wythenshawe. Widower Frank Burton, 91, was found dead in his home following the blast on Brownley Road on Thursday evening.

On Saturday afternoon, a police cordon remained in place at the scene opposite Crossacres Metrolink stop as the investigation into the cause of the explosion continued. A sniffer dog van from Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service was parked outside the house, while forensics investigators could be seen inside the property.

Earlier, Mr Burton's brother Philip told members of the press at the scene he believed the house to be 'fully electric' - and that his sibling may have bought a gas appliance to help with the 'cold snap and anticipating [the] rise in energy bills'. He said he feared any such appliance may have sparked the blast.

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The investigation continues into the cause. Neighbour Simon Duncan said he had known Mr Burton since moving onto Brownley Road 25-years-ago.

Speaking about the dad-of-two, he said: "He was a lovely man. The pigeons at the Civic would come to him as soon as they saw him coming, because they knew they were going to get fed. They would follow him about.

"He was quite well-known in the area because he'd lived here so long. When the kids were little at Halloween he used to decorate all the house and garden. When I heard that Frank had died it quite upset me, it really did."

Fellow Brownley Road resident Heather Stanley said: "You just don't expect something like this to happen in this day and age. Unfortunately for Frank, he lost his life. It's a terrible shock, it's very sad. He'd lived here for a long