The former newsagent's in Springboig was flattened, with debris sent flying across the other side of the road following the blast.

All that remains of the building in Springboig Road is part of a brick wall.

The blast happened about 3am and several streets were quickly sealed off as a precaution. No residents were evacuated.

One man was injured during the explosion and was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken by ambulance to Glasgow Royal Infirmary, where he was believed to be receiving treatment for burns.

It is not known if the man was walking past the building at the time or was inside it.

Police, fire and ambulance teams were called to the scene along with gas engineers.

Investigations are being carried out to find out exactly what caused the explosion.

Specialist fire teams were using what looked like hand monitors to check for gas fumes.

Ambulance teams were still standing by throughout the morning. Several teams responded to the incident, including a including a rapid response unit and two ambulance crews.

Speaking at the scene, Inspector Matt Gemmell said: "We are carrying out further investigations to find out exactly what happened."

Residents said they were concerned the explosion may have been connected to recent gas works in the area.

One man, who did not want to be named, said: "For weeks now there have been gasworks being carried out in nearby streets, while holes have been dug up outside my home.

"This morning there was a strong smell of gas and with this happening it does seem a bit of a coincidence."

Another man was shocked when he saw the extent of the damage.

He said: "It must have been some force of an explosion to do that.

"A lot of people use this as a shortcut to the main road and I hate to think how many people could have been injured."

A spokesman for Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said the force received the initial call around 3am.

The spokesman said: "We received a call saying it appeared a car had gone through the building, but that turned out not to be the case.

"We had two crews from Easterhouse on the scene and a third was brought in as back-up, along with our major incident unit.

"Crews remain at the scene."

deborah.anderson@ eveningtimes.co.uk

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