A GAS blast which ripped through a couple's house wrecked most of the ground floor and killed about 100 budgerigars and a cockatoo.

The blast happened when a portable gas canister exploded. Home owner David Brown and his wife, Sarah, narrowly avoided being caught in the explosion.

The couple, from Imperial Road, Gillingham, just managed to escape after fleeing through their front door. Firefighters say they are lucky to be alive.

Mr Brown said: “I’m devastated. I’ve been a breeder for the past 15 years. The birds are part of the family. I’m finding this really hard.

“They all perished apart from a one week-old chick. Not only that, I’ve lost everything. All my possessions are burnt. We are going to have to stay with friends.”

The explosion happened on Friday just as Mr Brown was about to go to bed.

He added: “I’d changed the bottle on the gas heater and was just getting into bed when we heard a hissing noise.

"I realised what it was and was halfway out the front door trying to call 999, when it blew up in the kitchen. The firefighters did a great job putting out the flames."

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue Service said: “The couple who lived in the home were very lucky not to have been injured or even killed by the blast."