A CAR crash caused a gas leak and the evacuation of 10 homes in Blackburn this morning.

Several gas intakes to houses in Preston Old Road, Cherry Tree, close to its junction with Hunters Lodge, were sheared off by the smash.

Operation Merlin - a precautionary measure for potentially hazardous incidents - was launched, with the police, fire and National Grid attending the incident.

Dozens of people were woken from their beds as experts tried to stop the leak.

Blackburn watch manager Steve Harrison said: “We couldn’t ascertain the extent of the leak because we couldn’t see the gas.

“Although it was windy, it could have been pooling in a low-level cloud, waiting for something like a switch to provide the ignition.”

National Grid staff eventually had to close the road to dig underground and cap off the leaking pipes.

The authorities worked solidly for several hours in driving rain, supervised by a hazardous materials officer from fire headquarters.

The car, thought to be a Peugeot, was recovered from the scene and police are looking into the incident.

A spokesman for National Grid said they were called out by homeowners at 7.20am and finally left the scene at 3.15pm.

They said: "We are returning on Monday to reconnect the gas to those houses. Nobody needed treatment as a result."

A spokesman for Blackburn Police said the road policing unit were looking into the incident.