FIREFIGHTERS were called to a house in the Narth near Trellech after gas canisters exploded in a garage with a noise so loud it could be heard in neighbouring Pen-y-Fan.

Witnesses said they heard a ‘shrieking noise’ of the gas escaping before the canisters exploded.

One neighbour said that she had been outside trying to take photographs of the Aurora when she saw a pink cloud.

“At about 9:55pm, my friend and I ran over there when we heard a small explosion and thought it might be a firework.

“So we hadn’t called the fire fighters because we didn’t know where it was or what was happening. When we got closer we knew it was bad and we got the neighbours to call 999 and the people who lived next door to the fire.

“We got very close to the fire trying to call out in case anyone was inside and thank god we realised that there was gas around before it started exploding or we would have been hit.”

A spokesperson for South Wales Fire and Rescue said: “We received a call at approximately 10.06pm on Thursday 12 September to reports of a domestic garage fire.

“Crews and appliances from Monmouth and Maindee attended the scene using two hose reel jets and a safety jet to extinguish the fire.”