A HOUSE destroyed following a huge gas explosion that rocked Clacton has been rebuilt.

The council house in Cloes Lane was destroyed following the blast on February 5, 2014, which injured nine people and affected a total of 24 homes.

An investigation into the blast found there had been a fault with a valve on a gas cylinder.

The property has now been rebuilt and will soon have a new tenant.

The adjoining semi-detached home in Cloes Lane, which was also badly damaged, had to be demolished and has not yet been redeveloped by the owners.

Tendring Council said efforts to carry out the work on the new property were hampered by a boundary dispute, which was resolved earlier this year.

The council’s contractors, Rose Builders, carried out the work and the keys were handed over to the council on Friday.

Paul Honeywood, the council’s cabinet member for housing, said that he was very pleased with the scheme.

“It has been finished to a good standard and will provide us with an excellent three-bedroom property for a tenant to take over in due course,” he added.

“The explosion made national news headlines at the time and it is really good to see that the rubble has now been replaced with a new home for a local family.”

Andrew Marchant, Building Surveyor at Colchester-based Ingleton Wood, which provided project management, design and building surveying services for the project, said it was an important project to help rebuild a home after an incident that shocked the local community.

“We were pleased to be able to help lead the redevelopment of this property and hope the new tenants will be very happy in their new home,” he added.

The blast reduced the 1960s homes home to rubble and also wiped out a second home.

Other properties were also damaged in the incident and nine people were injured - two of them seriously.