AN explosion caused a fireball to burst out of a manhole cover in Darlington yesterday
The cause of the incident, which happened in Duke Street at 8.50am, was unclear last night.
Communications company BT said it was caused by a faulty electricity cable. But Transco said it was a faulty BT cable that ignited a gas leak.
Firefighter Jeff Aston said: "There was a minor explosion that created a fireball out of the manhole cover. There was slight damage caused to the manhole cover and the surrounding paving slabs, which had to be lifted to gain access to the problem."
A spokesman for Transco said: "There was no damage to persons or property, and as far as we are concerned the problem is now sorted."
BT assured customers that the cables were undamaged and that services remained fully operational.
Only minor disruption was caused to traffic after the incident.
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