Newmarket's Exning Road closed during gas leak
- Published
Three fire crews, police officers and Cadent Gas workers reported to the scene of the gas leak in Exning Road, Newmarket
A busy road near a hospital and high school was shut after contractors damaged a main pipe.
Members of the public reported smelling gas around Exning Road in Newmarket at about 10:00 BST
Cadent Gas engineers stopped the leak just before 18:00 BST which allowed the road to be reopened.
A small number of people evacuated as a safety precaution have been allowed back into their properties.
The engineers remain on site to complete the repair work to the gas pipe, but Cadent Gas said "no supplies have been impacted".
Cadent Gas also thanked emergency services and the local community "for their patience whilst we dealt with this incident".
Cadent Gas said the road reopened just before 18:00 BST
Earlier, Ian Bowell, from Suffolk Fire and Rescue Service, said there had been a "severe rupture of a gas main and a large amount of gas" was escaping.
He said it was believed a piece of machinery could have struck the pipe while the ground was being dug up.
Neither the nearby Newmarket Community Hospital nor Newmarket Academy were evacuated, contrary to some initial reports.
The Newmarket Motor Company sent about 15 members of staff to a hall elsewhere in the town, but confirmed it had not been advised to do so by the emergency services.