THE parents of a toddler who died following a suspected gas explosion in Heysham have paid tribute to their ‘beautiful little angel.’

Police were called to the scene of the blast on Mallowdale Avenue at about 2.40am yesterday.

Officers attended and found two houses collapsed with serious damage to a third property.

Very sadly George Arthur Hinds, aged two years and 10 months, died as a result of the incident. 

George’s parents Vicky Studholme and Stephen Hinds were also injured, although thankfully not seriously.

In a tribute they said: “We are devastated at the loss of our beautiful George.

"He was so precious to us. We have no words to describe how we feel and just want time to ourselves to come to terms with what has happened.

"Our beautiful little angel grew his wings today.”

Two other people remain in hospital with injuries described as critical.

The emergency services, local authority and partners remain at the site and a safety cordon remains in place.

A number of residents have been evacuated and are being looked after by the local authority.

Gas service engineers are working to make the area safe.

People are being asked to avoid the area while police deal with this ongoing incident.

Anyone with any information should contact police on log 0180 of May 16 or on the Major Incident Portal at http://orlo.uk/YUSgi