Work on a road in central Burnley is set to continue for “longer than originally hoped” after an investigation unveiled a gas leak underneath Royle Road.

Cadent teams began work last weekend to investigate the smell of gas, near the Active Way roundabout and uncovered that the nature of the repair work was greater than expected.

Gas continued to remain live whilst workers fixed the issue.

Two large evacuations were needed to repair the pipe, each about five meters wide and two meters deep and required the closure of one lane of Royle Road as well as impact on the Active Way itself.

When the works were announced Nick Jerman, head of customer operations at Cadent, said: “Our teams have already taken action to keep everyone safe, and to keep gas flowing to the local area.

“This is a busy traffic area and there is really no quiet time to get this work done. We have tried hard – working with the local authority – to minimise the disruption as best we can.

“We hope everyone understands our priority has to be safety.”

Ongoing work led to congestion on the roads and the work completed this week means the impact on Active Way has been removed.

However, the remaining work to finish the repair under Royle Road will continue into next week and engineers hope that the road will be reopened by the end of the week.

A Cadent spokesperson said: “We appreciate this work - while essential to keeping everyone safe, and to keeping gas flowing to local homes and other buildings in the area - is disruptive, and thank everyone for their patience and understanding.”

If you smell gas, nearby or anywhere, please do not assume it is related to this work, as it may not be and needs to be checked. Always act immediately and call the national gas emergency service on 0800 111 999, day or night.