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The explosion collapsed three Victorian houses in north-west London, killing a resident in one property and leaving the intended target – 17-year-old Charlotte Anderson – in intensive care with severe burns.

Miss Anderson called police 10 hours before the blast on Wednesday to report that a group of girls aged 16 and 17 were causing trouble outside her house in Harrow. Another resident has claimed they were pouring a “purple and smelly” liquid through the letterbox.

Experts have told police that the volatile substance, which has not yet been identified, may have vapourised and exploded.

Emad Qureshi, 26, from Pakistan, who lived with his parents next door to Miss Anderson, died in the blast.

Scotland Yard has launched a murder inquiry and is hunting the girl gang, who are believed to have had a run-in with Miss Anderson.

She had moved to the area from Newcastle six months ago and recently began dating a local boy, causing arguments with two girls in the area, according to residents.

A police source said: “There are several possibilities, one of which is that this was a home-made explosive which was cooked up using a recipe on the internet. The methods for making these liquid bombs are all over the internet.

“We have seen with recent terrorism trials that there are plenty of things on the web, but it would obviously be an extraordinary and disturbing development if a girl gang has decided to settle a dispute in such dramatic and tragic way.”

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