RESIDENTS were led to safety in their dressing gowns when burning rubbish set fire to a gas main today.

Youngsters are being blamed for the blaze in Lancing Place, Bank Top, Blackburn.

A fire brigade spokesman said that youngsters had built a pile of rubbish around the gas main and set fire to it. The flames had then burned a hole in the main's sleeving.

The spokesman said: "It looked like a large bunsen burner when we arrived and we took the precaution of evacuating six neighbouring properties in case there were pockets of gas."

The mostly elderly residents stayed with neighbours for two hours until Transco sealed the main and declared it safe at 1.30am.

Shira Grant, 66, said: "I was just going off to bed when I heard lots of banging on the door. When I opened it somebody was shouting 'get out, get out, we're all going to be blown up'."

Mrs Grant, who is having central heating fitted to her house, added that it was fortunate that the new system had not yet been linked up to the gas main outside.

"The gas people told me there could have been a big explosion."

Mrs Grant spent two hours in the rain in her dressing gown before the fire brigade and Transco workers gave her the all clear to return.

"Whoever did this could have killed everybody in the row."

The blaze destroyed guttering at the pensioner's bungalow and damaged the roof.

A spokesman for Transco said the residents were in no "real danger."

She said: "It was only a minor incident, where vandals had set fire to rubbish near a gas pipe serving one of the properties.

"The plastic pipe melted setting fire to the gas supply. Transco was called out to cut off the supply and a team of engineers was there today to reconnect the gas."