AROUND 30 people have been evacuated from their homes after a gas main ruptured following a blaze in Stalbridge.

A 100 metre cordon is still in place and 25 homes have been affected.

Dorset Fire & Rescue Service is asking members members of the public to avoid the area.

Red Cross volunteers have set up a rest centre at the Royal British Legion Club in Barrow Hill and also have an emergency support vehicle near the scene of the fire to support anyone who is still in the area or returning to the area later today.

So far five Red Cross volunteers have been providing support to around nine residents at the rest centre.

Red Cross Fire and Emergency Support service volunteer Richard Selby says: “We’re supporting about eight or nine people at the rest centre at the moment but we’re anticipating more coming here once children come home from school and people get home from work and realise they’re not going to be able to go home.

The drama stems from a fire at 8.30am, when Dorset Fire and Rescue received over 15 999 calls to a serious blaze in a home at Vale Road.

At the height of the incident, six fire engines were on the scene of the fire, which affected two semi-detached homes.

By 10am, the service was scaling down its response, but at 11.30am the gas main into the properties ruptured as a result of the fire.

The gas main continues to be dealt with by the gas company with the assistance of Dorset Fire and Rescue.