UP to 50 people were evacuated from their homes in Crook last night after a major gas leak.

Engineers managed to reduce the pressure of leaking gas shortly after 12.15am this morning following temporary repairs.

Many of those asked to leave their homes stayed the night with friends or relatives.

A handful of people took shelter in the civic centre, where they were awaiting a decision on whether they could return to their homes.

Engineers were this morning monitoring gas levels inside the houses to determine whether it was safe to return.

Police and the fire brigade took the decision to evacuate 36 houses shortly after 3.20pm yesterday.

A spokeswoman for maintenance contractor United Utilities said that the fracture was caused by a digger driver working in the area of East Bridge Street cutting through the 250mm pipe.

Police cordoned off a 500-metre stretch of the A689, between the town's fire station and the Old Horseshoe pub. Street lights were also switched off as a precaution.

Two teams of gas engineers were sent to the scene to assess the situation, and by 10.45pm they were able to begin reducing the pressure of the escaping gas.

They did not want to cut off the supply altogether, because the main supplies hundreds of homes in several outlying villages.

"Our engineers managed to reduce the pressure and are making a temporary repair to the pipe," said the spokeswoman.

"The pipe was split horizontally, but the flow of leaking gas has now been reduced to just a small amount."

She said engineers would be at the scene overnight monitoring the situation and would begin a permanent repair later today.

Speaking at 8pm last night, one resident said: "They came round and told us to evacuate about 3pm.

"They said it would only take an hour, but they are still on with it."