Homes evacuated after car crashes into Nyetimber gas substation

Several properties have been evacuated after a car crashed into a gas substation in West Sussex.

Residents from six flats and one house were taken to a church hall after the crash in Pagham Road, near Nyetimber, on Monday morning.

A 100-metre evacuation cordon was put in place and people are advised to avoid the area while emergency services attend the incident, West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service said.

“We are currently dealing with a road traffic incident – a car has crashed into a gas substation in Pagham Road,” a spokesperson said.

Three fire engines were sent to the scene, the fire service said.

Those evacuated have been transferred to Pagham Church Hall.

Local resident Jon Coker and his mother were among the evacuees.

“I heard a knocking on the door at 04:30, and I was really disorientated, I didn’t know what was going on. It was the police,” he said.

Mr Coker said that, once outside, the police were still at the scene but “they couldn’t smell it [the gas] anymore”.

“It wasn’t a great start to a Monday morning,” he added.