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A dance school destroyed in the New Ferry explosion has found a new permanent home – nearly a year after its studio was wiped out in a gas blast that tore through the town centre.

Complete Works was based in the building at the centre of the blast last March, which left two people seriously injured and dozens more hurt.

The school has since been organised out of two church buildings, while co-owners Vikky Charlton and Kim Ashwin search for a new base.

They have now found what they say is the perfect location in Bromborough – and they plan to reveal all to pupils next month after the deal is completed.

(Image: Colin Lane / Liverpool Echo)

Vikky told the ECHO: "It's as close to where we were as we can possibly be.

"After the explosion, we were originally at Life Church and we're now at Cornerstone Church, which had two buildings we could use.

"Kim and I built the school from scratch and it's been heartbreaking - but we were lucky compared to other people who were left without homes."

The community rallied round with a £10,000 fund-raising appeal for Complete Works after the explosion.

Vikky and Kim, pupils and parents were determined the show should go on and pressed ahead with their annual show, despite the loss of the studio - which had a £10,000 refurbishment just months before the blast.

Also destroyed were £50,000 worth of dance costumes intended to be used in another business Vikky and Kim were about to launch.

They have spent the last 10 months looking for a suitable home for the school.

(Image: Colin Lane / Liverpool Echo)

Vikky said: "We have looked everywhere to find a new location. We are a big school with 250 pupils, so a lot of the units we looked at were too small.

"We've literally been over the whole of the area with a fine tooth comb and we've been backwards and forwards trying to find somewhere.

"This is absolutely perfect and the potential of the new building is fantastic."

*A furniture store director charged over the explosion in New Ferry is due to appear in court next month.

Pascal George Francois Blasio, 56, of Gillingham, Kent, is charged with causing an explosion likely to endanger life.

Contract Natural Gas Limited (CNG), an independent gas supplier which provides gas exclusively to business customers, has also been charged with an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 for failing to discharge general health and safety duty to a person other than an employee.