A GAS scare at one of Huddersfield’s landmark buildings led to part of the town centre being sealed off.
A gas main ruptured outside Oldgate House, headquarters for Kirklees education services, on Southgate, at 6.30pm yesterday.
Workmen are believed to have been in a trench outside the multi-storey building when the pipe broke.
Fire crews from Huddersfield were alerted and just after they arrived, the escaping gas caught fire.
Crews were tied up for several hours while gas engineers were called to the scene to carry out emergency repairs.
Southgate was shut to traffic and Oldgate House was evacuated along with a few buildings nearby.
Watch Manager Dave Price from Huddersfield fire station said: “We set up our firefighting equipment just in case and then stood by as a precaution while gas engineers worked at the site.”
The Huddersfield crew was eventually relieved by one from Brighouse and the area was finally declared safe at 1.30am today.
A large area of the pavement and road outside Oldgate House remained closed this morning while the work continued.
The pipes could be seen about 3ft down the trench.
