A MAN was lucky to escape with his life when a gas camping stove exploded in his kitchen, it has been revealed.

It blew windows out with an "almighty bang" which roused the whole street, said sub officer Mick Rowlands, of Kidderminster Fire Station.

The drama unfolded in Healthlands, Stourport, at 5.55pm on Monday, December 9 - and the occupant, who was unavailable for comment but is thought to be in his 50s, escaped serious injury by "pure co-incidence".

"He was using a little blue camping stove to warm up some oil in the kitchen, quite legitimately," said Mr Rowlands.

"There was a flash in the pan and he was taking it out into the open air when the cylinder blew up. He had just gone behind a wall.

"By pure co-incidence he happened to be on his way out of the kitchen when it blew - he would have been seriously hurt if he had been next to it."

The blast caused extensive damage to the house, including blown-out windows, while the man was shaken and had singed hair but escaped serious injury.

Mr Rowlands added the man had been taken to hospital for a check-up and kept in overnight as a precaution.

One fire crew from Stourport was called to the incident while another from Kidderminster arrived to investigate.

Mr Rowlands has urged anyone using similar stoves to be "very careful".

"It was an almighty bang - the whole street came out to see what was happening," he added.

"Lady Luck was smiling on him."