FESTIVE celebrations were interrupted as 150 people were evacuated from their homes amid fears of a gas explosion.

Families were moved to safety at around 8pm on Boxing Day after a car skidded on black ice and crashed into a gas main governor station in Atherton.

The car driver was uninjured but emergency services were alerted as the collision had caused a leak from the device which distributes gas to consumers.

Evacuating

Atherton Firefighters were first on the scene in Millers Lane and began evacuating homes within a 100 metres radius. More firefighters from Leigh arrived, prepared to deal with an explosion as police cordoned off the area.

Within minutes a Transco engineer was on the scene and summoned a gas supply breathing apparatus team -- but their arrival was delayed for two hours while they gathered necessary repair equipment.

Anxious firefighters stood by with emergency equipment ready as about 150 people -- including an elderly cancer sufferer -- had to leave their homes in freezing conditions until the leak was repaired. At one stage police considered using Formby Hall as a sanctuary for the evacuees. Those whose homes lay outside the evacuation area were advised to close their windows and to stay indoors.

Leigh Fire Station officer David Logan said: "Homes were evacuated for about two and a half hours. The council emergency planning officer was called but by the time he arrived people had gone into houses beyond the evacuation zone.

"People showed a lot of Christmas spirit because many people didn't know each other but they still invited them into their homes. People even came out and gave us cups of coffee and turkey sandwiches."

The Transco team managed to seal the leak -- even though the car was still on top of the gas installation.

Before leaving the scene firefighters checked for gas in the cellars of the surrounding houses.

A Transco spokesman said: "People were evacuated by the fire service purely as a precaution. No gas was found in properties."