Ronan Point remembered
16 May 2018
Fifty years ago, at about 5.45am on the morning of Thursday 16 May 1968, Miss Ivy Hodge went into the kitchen of her new 18th storey flat to make herself a cup of tea. She lit a match to light the gas stove, the gas leak exploded, and the side wall of the flat was blown out. This caused the whole of the corner of the apartment block to collapse, killing four people and injuring 17, including Miss Hodge.
It was a watershed moment. The flat was in a new housing development called Ronan Point, and the inquiry that followed led to significant changes in the Building Regulations for structural design which still stand today.