MOTORISTS were disrupted and houses were left without gas and electricity earlier today due to emergency repair work to fix a gas leak.

The leak was reported in Burrell Road this afternoon and temporary traffic lights were put in place to divert motorists around the scene.

National Grid engineers cut gas supply to two houses to make the scene safe and engineers from UK Power Networks were called in as the leak was believed to have been caused by an electrical fault.

“Utilities in the ground run very close to each other,” National Grid spokesman Raymond Miller said. “There’s no danger, the biggest impact is on traffic.”

National Grid engineers estimate it may take a few days to complete the repairs.

A spokesman for UK Power Networks said: “UK Power Networks engineers were asked to isolate supplies to 193 customers in the Burrell Road area of Ipswich for safety reasons to enable repairs to take place to a gas leak and to investigate whether an electrical fault could have caused the gas leak.

“Initial investigations have found no evidence of an electrical fault being the cause of the gas leak.

“The gas leak has been repaired and supplies were restored by 9.46pm.

“We appreciate how difficult it is to be without electricity and apologise to all those affected.”

Further investigations into the cause of the problem are due to take place tomorrow.