A CAR crashed into a gas main causing it to leak at West Buckland on Monday afternoon.

Fire crews from Wellington and Taunton, as well as an environmental protection unit from Taunton, attended the scene.

On arrival crews confirmed no persons were still in the vehicle and set up a cordon until the arrival of Wales and West Utilities.

Crews also assisted the police in evacuating neighbouring properties.

Darryl Goddard, Wales & West Utilities area engineering manager for South West England, told residents: “We’re sorry that the gas supply has been interrupted to your homes. This was caused by a vehicle damaging an above-ground part of the gas network. Our engineers are working to get the gas flowing to homes again safely.

“We will need to visit all affected homes to turn off gas supplies. Once we have repaired the damage, we will be visiting each home again to safely turn their gas back on and relight gas appliances. All our engineers will be carrying identification. When our engineers visit your home, they will be taking precautions to protect against Coronavirus.”

Gas was back on in the village later the following morning.