Residents allowed home after gas leak evacuation

Residents asked to leave their homes after a crash caused a gas leak have been allowed to return.

A car hit a gas pressure regulator on Station Road in Tidworth, Wiltshire, at about 21:00 BST on Thursday, which resident Jason Naylor said caused an "almighty bang."

The BBC understands that while residents have been allowed to return home, the area remains cordoned off to non-residents. Wiltshire Council said it is "working closely with the emergency services" to ensure people remain safe while "specialist teams deal with the gas leak."

Wiltshire Police said Albert Kweku-Duah, 21, of New Normandy Barracks in Aldershot, had been charged with careless driving and driving without insurance.

Gas provider SGN said the supply to about 190 homes had been lost and engineers were "assessing the damage and carrying out safety checks".

Mel Jacob, deputy leader of Wiltshire Council, said: "We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available and would encourage people to follow the advice of emergency services while the cordon remains in place."

Naylor said he was gaming in his shed when he heard the loud bang, adding that the "gas main was going off like a fountain".

"There was an almighty bang, and [I] literally felt the ground shake under my feet," he said.

"It was like something from a Hollywood movie."

No other vehicles were involved in the crash and nobody is believed to have been injured, said police.

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