Houses evacuated after fuel level concerns

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said crews were called to reports of the smell of fuel on Tuesday

Two homes were evacuated after higher than expected fuel readings were taken on a street in Plymouth, with the alarm being initially raised by an occupant.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service said crews were called to the Dayton Close in Crownhill at about 13:25 BST on Tuesday after the occupant called them to report the smell of fuel.

A spokesperson for the service said at about 20:30 crews and South West Water (SWW) remained at the scene as the readings were "still high".

At about 21:20, the fire service said the readings were back to "safe levels" and handed the incident to SWW who remain at the scene who confirmed at about 22:00 no leak was found in the sewer.

The spokesperson said: "We took some readings outside of some external drains and they were higher than you would expect them to be so we called in SWW and we are checking what the issue is together.

"We are still at the scene trying to work out the best way to deal with it. We still have an appliance there.

"The occupants of the house and its neighbouring property have been evacuated."

At 21:45, the fire service believes the occupants would not be returning to the property on Tuesday evening due to finding alternative accommodation for the night.

A spokesperson for SWW said: "Our teams attended Dayton Close, Plymouth this afternoon following a customer report of a fuel smell in the sewer network.

"They carried out a standard investigation using specialist cameras and found no leak in the sewer.

"We take all reports from customers seriously and would like to thank residents for their patience while we looked into this."

Devon and Cornwall Police has also been contacted.