A GAS leak led to the evacuation of a building site near Basingstoke railway station.

Around 100 people, including workmen, had to leave Dextra Court, in Chapel Hill, South View, on Monday (27/04) afternoon, after a digger hit a gas main.

A total of 12 firefighters from Basingstoke fire station were called to the scene at around 11.40am.

They put a temporary fix on the leak before a team of gas engineers arrived.

Claire Buchanan, spokeswoman for gas distribution network SGN, said: "A service pipe to one of the buildings at Dextra Court, which is currently being renovated, had been damaged by a third party.

"A short section of Chapel Hill had been closed by the police.

"The fire service had evacuated contractors who were working in the building, and employees working at a nearby industrial unit.

"We made a temporary repair and cut off the service pipe to make safe."

The engineers left the site by around 3pm.

Dextra Court, a former office building, is being converted into 56 flats for Sentinel Housing Association.

The building was previously occupied by Friends Life, a pension and insurance provider.

It is not the first time this year that a gas leak has caused disruption on a Basingstoke building site.

In March, the Black Dam Roundabout was closed for several hours after a gas pipe ruptured close to Barbel Avenue, Eastrop.

Rucstall Primary School, in Holbein Close, Black Dam, also closed for the day following the gas leak.