Gas leak closes Tesco

It appears that a gas leak is to blame for the emergency closure of Tesco this afternoon, and the supermarket giant says it hopes to re-open later today.

Emergency services were called to Tesco at lunch time and shoppers were asked to evacuate immediately.

At 3pm staff were still on stand-by in the car park and an insider said they have been told that they could well open again in the coming hours. Helpful staff members are keeping shoppers informed at the entrance of the car park and confirming it was a gas leak to blame.

One unofficial report said that a fridge or freezer may have been leaking some sort of gas.

The fact that staff are congregated outside the entrance of the store indicates that the leak is not substantial and engineers are believed to be working on correcting the problem.

In the meantime, it is boom time for the town’s other stores as shoppers divert to spend their money elsewhere.

PICTURE (courtesy of Graeme Paddison): The scene soon after the leak was reported.