Shrewsbury blast victim Scott Godbold today said he and his friends had come within seconds of disaster.

Scott, who lived with his girlfriend Sarah Pearse and their friend Sam Devine-Turner in the flat on the corner of Bridge Street and Smithfield Road which was destroyed by the explosion, has just been discharged from Birmingham’s Selly Oak hospital, two weeks after the incident.

Recalling the explosion on January 3, Scott said after climbing through debris followed by friend Annie Davies, who had stayed the night, he spotted Sarah in the car park of the Shrewsbury Hotel, next to the flat.

He said: “She had rubble and bits of wood on her legs and couldn’t move, she was in complete shock.

“Some people helped me get her out then she said: ‘Where’s Sam?’

“I went back towards the flames, I could hear her screaming: ‘Someone help me’.

“People came over to help me get her out.

“The flames were so close it was unreal, if it was another 30 seconds it would be a different story.”

On the evening of the blast, Scott was transferred to Selly Oak where he underwent surgery.

He said he did not remember the next two days but said when he came round he remembered the explosion. Later that week he had a skin graft on his left hand and was treated for burns to his back, neck, face and stomach.

He said doctors told him he should make a full recovery but will probably have scarring on his left hand. He will have to wear special gloves which compresses the skin to minimise scarring while the burns heal.

Scott added he was starting to get back to normal but had not yet begun to think about replacing his possessions after he lost almost everything that was in the flat.

He said he was hoping to attend a fundraising event for Sarah, Sam, Annie and himself, at the Severn Warehouse and Cellars on January 30 organised by Paul Bailey, from the Yorkshire House pub, who Scott said he wanted to say a massive thank you to.

He added that he also wanted to thank all the hospital staff who had cared for him.

“The staff at the RSH were absolutely fantastic, I’d like to thank all the doctors and nurses at Selly Oak as well, they were brilliant,” Scott said.

“It’s amazing how the town came together with their support, it was unexpected,” he said.

“I want to thank everyone. Things like this bring you closer to family and friends and I want to thank them for their support.”