RESIDENTS were evacuated from their homes after a rush-hour car crash led to a gas leak in York.

Police evacuated residents from houses in Barbican Road in York after a man driving a Volkswagen Scirocco smashed into a gas meter on the front of a house at about 7am today.

The car hit a bollard before crashing into the wall-mounted metre and a lamppost and leaking fuel in to the road leading to fears that there could be an explosion.

Kate Ayers, a 27-year-old teacher who lives in the house, said: "The whole house shook like there had been an earthquake and the next thing we knew the police where knocking on the door telling us to get out."

Police, fire and ambulance crews attended the scene and the road was closed to traffic for about an hour.

PC Simon Bradley, of North Yorkshire Police, said: "This could have been much worse. We don't know yet whether the fuel leak was caused by the collision or not, but the worst case scenario would have been if it had exploded."

Firefighter Andy Harris said: "In conjunction with the police we evacuated the householders as a precaution and shut off the road to traffic because we didn't want somebody driving past and flicking out a smouldering cigarette.

"If the bollard hadn't been there the car could have gone straight into the house and things could have been a lot worse."

Transco was called to carry out emergency repairs to the gas pipe.

The man driving the car was taken to York Hospital suffering from a bump to the head. No one else was injured in the incident.

Updated: 14:21 Monday, March 14, 2005