AROUND 3000 people were evacuated from their homes in Harrow last night following a huge fire at a storage yard.

The storage area round the back of Belmont Service Centre, in Kenton Lane, was completely destroyed with six cars and around 100 tyres being damaged.

A small part of the car workshop was also damaged after a gas cylinder exploded before firefighters were called around 6.30pm.

It is believed there were around 25 gas cylinders at the site, including a number of propane cylinders and around five acetylene cylinders, which can be hazardous when exposed to heat.

The fire was brought under control at around 11.30pm.

Station manager Turan Turan, from Northolt fire station, who was at the scene, said: “There was quite a large explosion but fortunately it was contained within the storage area."

The brigade worked with Harrow Council and police to evacuate between 500 to 600 homes in the area.

People were relocated to nearby community centres and St Anselm's Church, in Clifton Avenue, just off Kenton Lane.

Mr Turan added: “The explosion and fire caused extensive damage but fortunately no one was injured. Because of the danger posed by the gas cylinders, around 3000 people were evacuated from nearby homes as a precaution.

“It was a difficult job but crews worked incredibly hard to prevent the fire from spreading and managed to cool down the other gas cylinders and in doing so prevented further potential explosions.”

Firefighters stayed in the area for the rest of the night as fire investigators this morning work with police to establish the cause of the blaze.

Did you witness the fire? Were you evacuated from your home? Let us know by leaving a comment below or emailing ssharma@london.newsquest.co.uk