Dramatic suspected gas leak in Lenton

Sleepy Lenton got flammable on Saturday night as the fire brigade, police services and National Grid were called to a suspected gas leak at the junction of Rolleston Drive and Derby Road.

According to residents, gas could be smelled from hundred of metres away along Derby Road and on adjoining streets.

There seemed to be some confusion regarding the reason for numerous siren bearing vehicles infiltrating the top of Rolleston Drive.

However, in general, most residents didn’t seem particularly interested.  It seemed to be more of a minor disruption to the night for the majority of Lenton as opposed to a gassy apocalypse.

The Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service explained:

“We were called at 8.45pm on Saturday to a possible fire caused by a suspected gas leak on Derby Road.  We were at the scene until 11.56pm but there was no actual fire for us to deal with.”

The Nottinghamshire Police said that they had no knowledge about the incident.

James Andrews, a third year Maths student, witnessed the event.  He explained that after a rush of activity at around 10pm, it all became fairly undramatic:

“There was a fire engine sat in the entrance to Rolleston Drive when we walked past at around 10 o’clock.

“When we walked past again at around 2am the road was being dug up and a police woman who was directing traffic told us that there was a gas leak and the top of Rolleston Drive was closed.”

A spokesperson from the National Grid said: “The leak was caused by a electrical cable that shorted and damaged a plastic gas pipe. While waiting for the electricity to be switched off, two properties were evacuated.

“A temporary repair was done at around 3am last night.  Technicians returned in the morning to put in permanent repairs.  These should be finished by tomorrow morning.  No other gas pipes or properties were affected, and no injuries were reported at the scene.”