Major incident declared as UK house ‘suspiciously’ explodes killing two people

Police are investigating.

The blast occurred at around 6.30am at a house on Sterncourt Road in the Frenchay area of the city.

Avon and Somerset Police declared a major incident and confirmed that both victims' families had been notified.

Officers are treating the cause as suspicious but have moved to reassure the public that terrorism has been ruled out.

"Given the recent change to the UK threat level, we would like to reassure the public from the outset we are not treating this as a suspected terrorist incident," the force said in a statement.

Police also confirmed they are not actively seeking anyone else in connection with the incident.

A cordon has been put in place around the Sterncourt Road property as a precaution, and residents within the cordon have been evacuated.

Around 70 people were taken to the nearby Snuff Mill Harvester pub, where they were provided with free food and drink while emergency services worked at the scene.

There is not believed to be any significant damage to neighbouring properties.

In a separate development, officers confirmed they are also carrying out enquiries at a second property in the Speedwell area of Bristol linked to the incident.

Emergency services remained at the scene throughout the morning, with a significant police presence visible on Sterncourt Road as investigations continued.