Debris from the Rettenden explosion rained down, says a photographer

The photographer was driving to the studio for a meeting when he noticed a fire on the horizon over his farm.

“It was 150 meters (492 feet) from the gate and I quickly canceled the meeting and thought, ‘I’m not happy with where the wind is going,'” he said.

Johnson started to take some of his most expensive kit out of the studio and put it in the van when the explosion happened.

A residential composter had exploded.

He said: “He blew me to the door and I ran to the van, I dropped the bit that I got back – maybe it saved my life, I don’t know.”

As it happened: Twenty firefighters were taken to hospital after a major Essex explosion.

The photographer was shocked to see that the studio roof was completely caved in.

Driving to a safe distance, he said, “I pulled over, and I just started freaking out and shaking,” though he calmed down after being checked on by ambulance crews.

Johnson managed to cover the wedding bookings on Saturday, praising his “amazing assistant” James Musselwhite for driving from Portsmouth to help him.

“I’m still in a bit of shock to be honest,” he said.

“I was completely unhurt, except for a little numb ear from the worry—but I don’t know how I got away unscathed.”