In the early hours of 16 October, officers on Newcastle City Council's out of hours duty cover were springing into action after a row of flats in the Violet Close estate in the Elswick ward of Newcastle had been destroyed by a huge blast.

Neighbouring properties suffered huge damage in the explosion. The first responders from the emergency services quickly evacuated more than 140 people in the immediate vicinity including parents, children, elderly residents and a pregnant woman – all of them forced out of their homes before 2am with nothing but the clothes on their backs and in need of extensive wraparound support.