A WOMAN has revealed she was saved by her steering wheel after debris from a gas blast smashed through her windscreen.

Gail Blackwell, 44, was driving past a house in Cloes Lane, Clacton, at the moment it exploded.

A slab of concrete hurtled through her Ford Ka’s windscreen and hit her steering wheel.

Mrs Blackwell, of Sidney Street, Brightlingsea, said: “I am lucky to be alive.”

Investigators were still picking through the rubble yesterday after the explosion on Wednesday morning.

For a special report, including information on the flurry of donations by Clacton residents to the victims, see Friday's Gazette.