Landlady Susan Stewart opened her pub at the weekend only three days after it was blown apart in an explosion.

The front of the Colliery Tavern, Sunderland, was wrecked when a gas blast tore through it.

Ms Stewart only survived because she had pulled down a metal shutter an instant before the oven in the kitchen exploded on Wednesday.

She said: "I wasn't going to let a little explosion stop me from opening up on a Saturday."

The explosion happened when a can of air freshener was left on top of an electric cooker, which had been accidentally switched on and caught fire.

The can exploded igniting the gas supply in the kitchen, blowing out the windows, doors and front walls of the bar.

The 48-year-old said she had been "very, very lucky" to escape with her life.

She has owned the tavern, near the Stadium of Light, for nearly three years, after taking over from her sister, Brenda, when she died of bone cancer aged 48.

She said her promise to her sister to look after the pub went through her head as she tried to tackle the fire.

Work to replace the windows and walls is expected to take two weeks.