STEPHANIE HAMMACOTTNine-year-old Stephanie Hammacott was killed by a freak gas explosion as she was walking to school in Plymouth on 8 January, 2008.The massive blast destroyed an end-of-terrace house in Bulteel Gardens, Southway, catapulting rubble and debris into the street, where Southway Primary School pupil Stephanie was walking with her mother Carol shortly before 8am.Stephanie, who lived only yards away, was trapped under the rubble and later died at Derriford Hospital. Her mother, who tried to free her, escaped serious injury.The house's occupants, a couple in their eighties, also miraculously emerged almost unharmed.Mourners attendingher funeral on 23 January, 2008, wore something pink, the little girl's favourite colour, to pay their last respects.Tributes have poured in for Stephanie and her family. One sent to The Plymouth Evening Herald said: "Only two minutes before or after could have saved her life. Why her, and why then?"Homes in Southway were evacuated after the incident amid fears they might be unsafe either because of gas pockets or structural damage caused by the blast.Investigators leading the inquiry into the blast have said early findings have revealed what appeared to be a fracture in the low pressure gas main situated in the street next to the sight of the explosion at Bulteel Gardens.The elderly resident of the house, Harriet Cloke, was taken to hospital.
Keep me informed of updates
