Three teenage boys have been cleared of starting a fire at a Harrow MOT garage last October that caused thousands of people to be evacuated.

The two 16-year-olds from Harrow, and a 15-year-old from Stanmore, were accused of starting the huge blast at a storage yard behind Belmont Service Centre in Kenton Lane on October 3 last year.

Around 3,000 people were moved away from their homes after a gas cylinder on the site exploded, sending huge plumes of black smoke over the area, but nobody was hurt.

Firefighters battled the blaze for hours, and six cars and around 100 tyres were damaged, while a small part of the car workshop itself was also damaged by fire.

The three boys were arrested after one of them, with his mother, handed himself in at a police station and said they may have accidentally started the blaze with a discarded cigarette butt.

The trio had been caught on CCTV smoking in the alleyway behind the service centre moments before it caught fire.

But in court yesterday they were cleared of starting the fire deliberately.

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