A series of pavement explosions has injured at least seven pedestrians in London in recent months, the Standard can reveal today.

One pensioner is now suing a power supply company after he was left seriously injured by an explosion under a manhole in a London street.

Details of his case have emerged just weeks after a woman pedestrian suffered 20 per cent burns in a similar freak explosion in Edgware Road.

Colin Wingate, 75, was left in a wheelchair for nearly three months after the blast blew out a manhole cover he was standing on while chatting to friends.