BY IAN CROUCH

A young tradesman has been rushed to hospital after a gas explosion at Whitebridge.

The 25-year-old was servicing a gas heater at a home on Hudson Street yesterday afternoon when the appliance exploded in his face.

He was treated at the scene by paramedics before being taken to the John Hunter Hospital in a serious condition.

Firefighters from Charlestown isolated a gas main and made the area safe.