ABOUT 200 people were evacuated from their homes in Prestwich at midnight after an acetylene cylinder inside a garage was set alight.

The fire was put out by firefighters at the domestic garage at the rear of Kings Road, near Sedgeley Park.

A 200 metre 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 were still being asked to avoid the area early today. No one was injured during the incident.