A PENSIONER is seriously ill in hospital after a mystery explosion wrecked his bungalow home.

Roland Haslam, aged 67, survived the blast at his home in Cameron Street, Sharples, and is now recovering in the burns unit at Wythenshawe Hospital.

The cause of the blast is not known but investigators believe it may have been caused by gas.

As the investigation into the explosion continued, a spokesman for Transco said: "We are investigating along with fire officers. We think it was gas that caused it but we cannot say that for certain and do not know what the source of the ignition was."

The spokesman added that specialist investigators would examine the house this weekend and more would be known about the cause of the blast next week.

A spokesman at Wythenshawe Hospital said that Mr Haslam was "poorly" in the hospital burns unit earlier today.

A double-glazed window was blown 30 feet from the house and shards of glass, along with Mr Haslam's belongings were strewn across the road.

Neighbours ran out of their homes when they heard the explosion at 6am on friday and carried Mr Haslam from the doorway of his home to safety.

His burns were wrapped with cold cloths and the neighbours raised the alarm. Firefighters spent two hours at the scene tackling a blaze.

Mr Haslam, who suffered burns to his hands, body and head was taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital before being transferred to Wythenshawe.

A spokesman for Bolton at Home confirmed that the house was one of theirs and said that staff had been on the scene all day.

The spokesman said they would not know about repairs until the investigations were over.