THE emergency services evacuated residents from 40 houses after a major gas leak.

The alarm was raised after thieves tried to steal a gas meter from a derelict house early on Monday morning.

Residents of the houses in Lonsdale Street, Accrington, were forced to spend two-hours waiting at the bottom of the street as engineers battled for two hours to repair the leak.

Gas was discovered leaking from the house just after midnight.

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