Homes evacuated in Stockport after explosion fears

Forty homes and three businesses in Stockport had to be evacuated, after firefighters tackling a fire discovered a potentially explosive gas cylinder.

Crews were called to a fire at an industrial unit in Charles Street, just after 1100 BST. An acetylene cylinder was found in the affected area.

Firefighters have set up a safety zone around the site.

Higher Hillgate, which had been been closed between the the A6 junction and Longshut Lane, has been reopened.

A fire service spokesman said that the gas cylinder had been cooled down and safely disposed of and that evacuated residents had begun returning to their homes from 1800 BST.