By Remayah Tulloch-Hunter
Students, staff, and customers had to be evacuated after a gas leak was discovered in a Leicester shop underneath a university block of flats.
The Budgens shop below the Code Accommodation in Briton Street, Leicester, was shut for four hours after the accident, which left the shop full of smoke.
Criminology and Psychology student Urvashi Palyekar, 21, who lives in the accommodation block, said:” I saw lights from the fire trucks and heard a loud bang. I followed where the bang come from and saw it was our local shop.”
Business Administration student Jason Santamaria, 22, who also lives in one of the flats, said: ”I saw sirens and heard them from my accommodation block and went to have a look at what happened. When I saw smoke coming out of Budgens I knew it was an important thing.”
Hari Selvan, 26, manager of Budgens, explained: “There was a gas leak as the fridge was being moved by staff members, which was connected to a gas pipe that unhooked from the fridge.
“The store had a little bit of damage but nothing serious and no-one was affected by the gas.”
When the gas leak was discovered staff and customers were evacuated, as well as students above the shop.
The leak happened on Saturday, November 2, and the fire service arrived at 8.50pm to check if anyone was affected and to investigate the cause.
