Officers were called to reports of a small kitchen fire in Castleford but when they arrived they found a series of fires in six terraced houses.

Firefighters had only just evacuated the 30 residents from their properties when the huge blast happened and one of the houses was engulfed in flames.

The footage has been released as a warning about the dangers of stealing copper wire and tampering with electricity and gas supplies.

A spokesman said a piece of cable had been cut from an overhead line which affected the earthing of the electrical network in the area and resulted in unusual electrical activity which, in turn, affected some of the gas pipes within the properties.

He said this resulted in the fires and explosion which left two firefighters with minor injuries.

Two homes were partly demolished and the four other houses suffered extensive fire and blast damage.