FIREFIGHTERS and gas engineers have been working this morning to contain a gas leak.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service’s control room received a call to reports of the leak at the junction between Hythe Street and Victoria Road, Dartford, just after 8am.

At the scene, two crews from Dartford were confronted with a fractured natural gas main and immediately sought support.

Police officers, along with an additional four fire appliances from Thames-side, Swanscombe, Medway and Rainham, were sent to the scene.

Crews set up a cordon, closed surrounding roads and evacuated nearby properties as a precaution.

Fire crews and gas engineers worked hard to surround the leak, and by 9.12am firefighting resources at the scene were scaled down.

By 9.22am the site was declared safe. The area has now been reopened to pedestrian and vehicle traffic.