A £235,000 house collapsed into a pile of rubble after builders started to 'reconfigure' the inside of the property to split it into two homes. The property on Rodney Way, Romford collapsed at 6.20am on Tuesday leading the London Fire Brigade to evacuate surrounding residents because of fears of a potential gas leak. However, the two-storey property, which had been sold for £235,000 in August, had been undergoing major work as part of the redevelopment project. The two-bedroom end of terrace house was reduced to rubble after it collapsed on Tuesday morning . Builders had been stripping the interior of the house as part of the project shortly before the collapse . According to a planning application with the London Borough of Havering, permission had been granted to demolish an existing garage at the end-of-terrace site. Developers were also granted permission to build an extension at the side and to the rear of the site and reconfigure the interior of the existing house to create two, two-bedroom houses. The Health and Safety Executive confirmed it is aware of the situation and are investigating the cause of the collapse. The house was advertised as a 'two bedroom end terrace house with detached house and driveway to the side plot measuring 16ft width from the existing house with great potential to build to the side subject to planning permission.' According to the planning file, Dovetail Architects asked the council for permission for the 'demolition of existing garage and construction of a single, with part two storey rear extension and double storey side extension, reconfigeration of internal arrangement to create 2 x 2 bedroom dwelling both with private amenity and off-street car parking.' Dovetail Architects have not yet responded at the time of publication. Under the plan, builders were going to convert the end-of-terrace property, pictured, into two two-bedroom homes after demolishing the garage, right, and building an extension to the side of the site . London Fire Brigade was forced to evacuate houses within a 50-metre radius after a gas main was ruptured . An 80-year-old neighbour who witnessed the heavy German bombing of East London when she was a child said: 'It looks like something from the war - it could've been the Blitz. 'But unlike the war I didn't go climbing over the rubble like I would've done when I was a kid. 'Somehow I managed to sleep right through it too but it must've been a terrible noise.' Residents were evacuated and a 50 metre exclusion zone was put in place when the collapse fractured a gas supply. Romford firefighter Jason Frisby said: 'The house was under refurbishment and had been completely stripped out. 'Fortunately, it was unoccupied at the time it collapsed and no-one was injured. Had it collapsed when the builders working on the house were inside, they may not have been quite so lucky.' Structural engineers are now working to determine what caused the house to collapse. A London Fire Brigade spokesman said: 'Lady Luck was shining in Romford earlier, a house collapsed and amazingly no-one was injured.'
The two-bedroom end of terrace house collapsed on Tuesday morning . Builders had demolished a garage and stripped the inside of the house . Developers wanted to build a second house on the side of the original . The Health and Safety Executive is investigating the cause of the collapse . Elderly neighbours claimed the disaster reminded them of 'The Blitz'