Most residents were due to return to their homes yesterday (Wednesday) except those immediate neighbours of the blast site.

In all residents from 66 properties were sent to the Royal British Legion, in Northolt Road, on the evening of the blast before being relocated to hotels. By Sunday, 50 homes had been deemed to be safe.

Paul Redmond of Stanley Road, believes it may be a year before he is allowed to return to his house, two doors away from the blast.

He said: "I've been told we can't access our property, so we have to tell the council which belongings we would like and they will go in and search for them."

The father-of-three was initially told that he would not be entitled to financial support until his insurance company could inspect his house, which remains cordoned off as part of the crime scene. However, this was later rectified and he is now in a hotel with his family.

Sam Taylor, who did not need to leave her Stanley Road home, said: "We had our gas and electricity switched off and there are quite a few elderly people on our end of the road. The council didn't visit them until the Friday."

James Morris, of Sherwood Road, was evacuated after the explosion shattered the windows of his property. He has criticised the council's handling of the disaster.

The 27-year-old said: "The council certainly hasn't been helpful. They keep telling me I can't get into my house because it is within the cordon but I have seen people go in and out of their homes.

"It seems like they have one rule for some and another for others."

Gareth Thomas, MP for Harrow West (Labour), said: "It is my understanding that the process of getting people into temporary accommodation went smoothly.

The leader of Harrow Council David Ashton (Conservative) said most residents were expected to return to their homes yesterday (May 14), apart from numbers 25 and 27, which suffered the most structural damage.

Mr Ashton said: "Most residents came back with positive comments, but it's impossible to please everyone.

"We needed to concentrate on the people who were injured or affected by the explosion the most. The majority of residents were told the right thing. Some members of staff may have got the message wrong, but that wasn't the intention."

The rumours and the facts:

RUMOUR: The blast was launched by a terrorist organisation.

FACT: On Friday last week, Colin Sutton, the chief inspector in charge of homocide and serious crime, staunchly refuted the claim that the blast was related to terrorism. He said: "This incident certainly is not linked to any terrorism organisation or a terrorist act of any sort."

RUMOUR: A purple liquid, poured through the letter box at 21 Stanley Road was the cause of a chemical reaction which resulted in the explosion on Wednesday last week. FACT: Although there is evidence that a purple liquid was poured through the letterbox, at this stage there is nothing to suggest it is related to the explosion. The liquid was poured through the door between 9am and 11am, 12 hours prior to the explosion. Injured Charlotte Anderson suffered heat burns and not chemical burns, according to police.

RUMOUR: A gang of girls responsible for pouring the liquid through the letterbox returned to the house later with a homemade bomb.

FACT: The 'gang' of girls was more likely to have been two or three girls at most, according to police. And although it is believed they poured the liquid through the door there is no evidence of them returning to the house. However,a call was made to the police at 10.53am about a disturbance outside the house but the caller told the police not to worry when the girls went away.

RUMOUR: The explosion occurred because of a gas leak.

FACT: There is still no evidence to suggest that a leak was the cause of the explosion and on Friday last week police said that although they had not ruled out a gas explosion experts were suggesting this was an unlikely cause.