A report into the Shrewsbury blast which left five people seriously injured has concluded that nobody is to blame.

• Read the full report here

A year-long investigation by the Health and Safety Executive revealed no evidence of any breach of safety legislation.

As a result the HSE say they will not be taking any enforcement action in the wake of the case.

The explosion at 1-5 Bridge Street resulted in five people suffering major injuries. A number of properties in the area sustained significant damage. A number of people also suffered minor injuries.

Today’s news will come as a blow to blast victims who were pursuing claims against BT after allegations it was responsible.

National Grid made allegations about BT in relation to the cause of the blast.

A letter from the solicitors for National Grid said the McDonnell family was claiming compensation.

And Shrewsbury solicitor Jeremy Taylor, of Wace Morgan Solicitors, said he was representing Scott Godbold and Sarah Pearse.

The HSE said it conducted a thorough investigation into the reasons for the blast and concluded that:

• Mains gas leaked from a fractured low pressure cast iron gas main located in the footpath immediately in front of 1-5 Bridge Street.
• The gas accumulated within 1-5 Bridge Street and was ignited by a source within the building leading to the explosion.
• Stresses imposed by the local ground conditions near to the main may have contributed to the unpredicted failure of the main.
• There is no evidence of failures by the pipeline operator or any other company or individual to warrant prosecution.

Under law gas operators are required to maintain their networks in a safe condition. Many older gas mains are made of cast iron, a programme is in place to replace this with new polyethylene (yellow) pipes.

The lead HSE investigating Inspector Nicola Wade said: “This has been a complex investigation, involving many hours of work and forensic analysis to understand exactly what happened on January 3, 2010.

“The most likely cause of the explosion is that gas escaped from the fractured gas main and ignited nearby, despite no previous reports of a gas leak in the area.

“The gas main was correctly classified as low risk, it had been subject to stresses over time, causing a fracture.”