RESIDENTS had to be evacuated from their homes after a thief diced with 'incredible danger' by trying to steal live gas pipes for scrap metal.

Police were called to Hawarden Street, Nelson, at 6.30pm on Saturday after a woman reported seeing a man acting suspiciously in her front garden.

Soon afterwards, there was a smell of gas and officers discovered that there had been an attempt to remove the outdoor gas meter, which had damaged the supply pipe.

Homes in Hawarden Street and in neighbouring terraces were evacuated for just under an hour while Transco workers were called out to stop the leak.

Police believe the thief had been trying to get at the pipes for scrap metal which could be sold on.

Inspector Richard Clare, of Nelson police, said the incident could have had much worse consequences.

He said: "Obviously it's a pretty stupid thing to do to try to pull a gas meter out of the wall, and we think the thief may have been hoping to get to pipes which could be sold on for scrap metal.

"We had to evacuate a number of houses nearby which was of course very inconvenient for those people, but there could have been very severe consequences.

"We could have ended up with an explosion, people being seriously injured and houses being blown up if things had gone differently. Nobody should interfere with gas supplies except a qualified Corgi-registered fitter.

"It's an incredibly dangerous thing to do."

Anyone with information about the incident has been asked to call Nelson police on 01282 425001.