People living in the west Suffolk village of Bures were evacuated after a vehicle crashed into a gas stopcock and caused a leak, emergency crews have said.

An 100m cordon was put in place near Cuckoo Hill for homes and businesses, while police and firefighters worked at the scene.

They were called to reports of a possible gas leak at approximately 3.15pm yesterday.

"We arrived and immediately cordoned off all business and properties within a 100 metre radius," a police spokesman said.

"The fire services led the incident and we provided support.

"It appears that a vehicle drove into a gas stopcock which caused the leak, but no one was hurt."

Neighbours were evacuated until 6.16pm yesterday, when they were told they could return to their homes.

Gas company Cadent sent an engineer to assist on the scene once fire services had made it safe.

A fire service spokesman said: "We sent two units to the incident, one from Sudbury and one from Long Melford.

"We advised residents to close their doors and windows and we worked with the gas company to ensure the repair work was carried out.

"The Cadent engineer worked to isolate the leak and once the area was safe we left the incident in the hands of the police."

Cuckoo Hill in Bures was closed for the duration of the repair work and was reopened shortly after the 100m cordon was removed.

Emergency services have not said if the damage happened to private property, but can confirm that it happened somewhere on Cuckoo Hill.

The fire service called a time of stop at 6.02pm.