FIREFIGHTERS lifted a 200 metre exclusion zone early today after it was put in place following a fire.
Around 200 people were evacuated from their homes in Prestwich at midnight on Wednesday after a garage containing an acetylene cylinder was set alight. They were allowed home at 1am today.
The blaze was extinguished by firefighters at the domestic garage at the rear of Kings Road, near Sedgley Park.
But a cordon had to be put in place so the cylinder could cool down and there would be no risk of explosion.
Evacuees were taken to the police training college at Broughton Park and then to Bury Council's Longfield Suite.
The exclusion zone was set up and Bury New Road was closed at the junctions with Moor Lane/Singleton Road and Hilton Lane/Scholes Lane.
Motorists who usually travelled through the area were caught up in heavy congestion when the diversions were put in place.
The exclusion zone also had a knock on effect yesterday, with traffic coming to a standstill on the M60.
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