Gas leak causes evacuation and rail disruption

Damage was caused to a pipe when construction workers were digging up the road.

Five houses were evacuated for over an hour and a half as a precautionary measure and trains were halted on the line from Lisburn to Lurgan but the nearby Coca Cola factory was not believed to be affected.

Phoenix Gas say they were contacted shortly before 3.50pm and then spent several hours isolating the supply and then working to repair the damage.

Fire appliances from Lisburn and Lurgan were called to the scene and set up a 50 metre exclusion zone as a precaution. They remained on site for several hours.

A spokespersson for Phoenix Gas said it was important to check plans before any work on the roads is carried out in a gas licence area.

"We can confirm that a third party contractor, not working for Phoenix, caused damage to a gas service at the Lissue Road in Lisburn," he said.

"Our engineers made the area safe on arrival and then spent several hours completing the necessary repairs. We are continuing to urge construction workers to contact us to request plans of gas pipe locations before they start digging on any road. The dedicated Phoenix 'Dial Before You Dig' help line is 90 555819".