Gas leak leads to Bristol flats' evacuations

Residents of a block of flats in Hotwells were evacuated after a gas leak which may have been caused deliberately.

The fire service, police and staff from Wales & West Utilities were called to Brandon House in Jacobs Wells Road at 11.15am yesterday.

A flat on the sixth floor was eventually broken into by firefighters and the gas supply was isolated. A small fire was also discovered at the block, police said.

Avon & Somerset police sent in detectives and forensics officers to the flats to investigate.

Spokesman Steve Game said: "We are looking into the possibility of arson."

One resident of the block, who asked not to be named, said: "I was told that if anyone had lit a cigarette or turned a light on, it could have been very dangerous.

"The fire brigade were running up and down and telling people to evacuate their flats and workers from the gas board were running around trying to work out where the gas was coming from.

"People were evacuated from flats from the fourth to the eighth floor."

Rachael Mullins, spokeswoman for Wales & West Utilities said: "We were alerted to a smell of gas in the area and a crew was dispatched to the site to investigate.

"Once on site we worked with the police and the fire brigade, we isolated the gas supplies and made the building safe."