RESIDENTS in eight homes were evacuated and a 1km exclusion zone put in place after a car crashed into two gas mains.

One vehicle drove off Rectory Road in Hockley just about 8pm last night rupturing two gas mains and causing a leak.

Fire fighters from Hawkwell and Rayleigh used two monitors and one jet as gas board specialists worked to stem the leak. Police were on scene for traffic control and to rush nearby residents out of their homes for fear of an explosion.

The driver of the vehicle, aged in his twenties, was injured as a result of the crash. He was not trapped but needed treatment from paramedics at the scene.

The gas was isolated just before 9.10pm and by 9.30pm residents were being allowed back into their homes.