Blast scare as gas leaks from cylinder

A leaking gas cylinder sparked a scare after it was dumped on a Black Country roadside, prompting worried workers to flag down a passing fire engine.

A worker from Willenhall delivery firm Nightfreight saw the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder – of the type used to power cars or vans converted to autogas – on a grass verge outside the firm's Ashmore Lake Way base. Firefighters from Willenhall Fire Station acted as they drove past shortly afterwards, on their way back from a small grass fire nearby.

Despite only a relatively small amount of gas escaping, they sealed off a small area around the cylinder and used a fire hose to prevent any risk of explosion.

Crew commander Jonny Pearson said he assumed the tank was dumped just before 1.30pm yesterday because its owners were trying to transport it, without properly disabling the gas.

"There was a fracture to the delivery pipe on the cylinder and it was emitting a small plume of gas," he said. "It looked like whoever dumped it had tried to crimp that, but hadn't done it properly.

"We think that they just decided it wasn't safe and dumped it on the side of the road. Because it was coming out at a low pressure, there wasn't a large amount of gas, but we just needed to ensure the scene was safe.

"We put a monitor on there to eliminate any ignition sources and used the water jet to dilute it down.

"We are just pleased that it all went well."

A worker from LPG suppliers Calor Gas arrived at around 4.30pm, before sealing the fractured pipe and removing the cylinder.

Mr Pearson added that the size of cylinder meant it had probably previously been used on a van.

"Leaving something like that leaking at the side of the road is clearly not something we'd recommend," he said.