RESIDENTS in a Bolton street were warned to stay indoors and a club was evacuated after a major gas leak last night.

The leak began when a white Nissan estate car ploughed into a gas control box at the junction of Ivy Road and Valletts Lane just after 9pm.

The accident tore away one gas pipe and damaged another.

Two fire engines called to the scene sprayed jets onto the gas to help it disperse.

British Gas TransCo workers arrived minutes after the initial call to the emergency services, a spokesman said today.

The driver of the car is understood to have been suffering from shock but was not injured.

Workers were due to call back again this morning to ensure the box, which regulates the pressure of the gas, was working properly. Residents in nearby houses were told to stay inside but the Latvian Club, on the corner of Ivy Road and Chorley Old Road, was evacuated.

Mr Gordon Merrills, 61, and his wife Marceline, 55, of Victoria Grove, Halliwell were enjoying an evening at the club, with friends.

He said: "It was about 9.30 when we were told by a gas worker to leave the club. There must have been around 35 of us. We were very close to the leak."

An Ivy Road resident said the smell of gas was "very strong". He said he was not evacuated from his home and his gas supply was not affected by the leak.

He said: "I was standing outside the house to see what was happening when someone told me to go inside." British Gas TransCo press officer, Alex Cunningham, said the public was never in any real danger although "there is always some danger with gas escapes. The important thing is that we got there quickly".

He said it was important for anyone suspecting a gas leak to ring the new emergency free 'phone number 0800 111 999 for a free call out.

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