RESIDENTS in a Worcester street had to be evacuated from their homes when a van powered by liquified petroleum gas (LPG) caught fire.
The blaze started in the white Ford van in Bilford Road, near the junction with Droitwich Road, at around 6.30pm yesterday.
If it had spread from the engine to the tank, which contained the gas, the vehicle could have exploded, according to the fire brigade.
Police blocked Bilford Road at both ends and told residents to stay in their back gardens, while firefighters from Worcester's White Watch put out the fire.
The driver, who was sheltering behind a garden wall when the emergency services arrived, had warned them over the phone that the vehicle had been converted to run on the gas, a cheaper alternative to petrol.
He was believed to be from Telford and was making deliveries in the area.
Alec Mackie, spokesman for Hereford and Worcester Fire Brigade, said they had never had to deal with a fire in a vehicle run on gas before.
"We were concerned in case the fire spread from the engine - there would have been an almighty bang," he said.
A fault in the van's ignition system is believed to have been the cause of the fire.
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