Residents of an East Cambridgeshire village have been allowed to return home this morning following a large gas leak. 

A large diameter, high pressure gas pipe in Fordham was damaged and, due to the amount of gas escaping, a cordon was in place for safety reasons.

A number of properties were also evacuated as a safety precaution, with many residents taken to Ross Peers Centre in Soham where they spent the night.

READ MORE: Fordham gas incident leads to evacuation and road closure

Teams from Cadent worked to stop the large gas escape and repair the gas pipe last night.

Safety checks have since been completed and a cordon was removed. 

A Cadent spokesperson said this morning: "This is great news for all the families who had to evacuate from their homes in Fordham.

"We will have engineers on site this morning just in case there are any problems when you return home but this should not be the case.

"We would like to thank everyone for their patience and understanding whilst Cadent, the Cambridge Fire & Rescue service, police and local authority all worked together to bring this incident to an end.

"Thank you. Just a small reminder if you do smell gas in your home, please call the gas emergency number immediately on 0800 111 999 and an engineer will be sent out to investigate for you."