A blaze burned through a gas pipe causing a leak last night.

Firefighters from Crawley Fire Station were called to a house in Bracknell Close in Bewbush at 7.20pm to deal with a fire that had spread from a wheelie bin.

The contents of the bin and some leaves had caught fire and spread to the mains leading to the house and burned through the gas pipe.

A fire officer who attended the incident said: “It could have been quite serious.

“Thankfully the house was empty so we didn’t feel the need to evacuate, but we stayed until the gas board turned up to make sure it was safe.

“We don’t know whether or not it was deliberate at this stage.”

The single crew wrapped up an hour and a half later.