Army bomb disposal experts have been called in to make safe an area of Northampton after an explosion in a rubbish bin.

The bin exploded just after 0400 GMT, on Thursday, and windows of a number of nearby homes were damaged.

No-one is believed to have been injured in the blast in Billing Road, near St Andrew's Hospital and opposite Barry Road.

A spokeswoman for Northamptonshire Police said: "Although no-one has been evacuated we have spoken to local residents and asked them to stay near the back of their houses."

Billing Road was shut between Cliftonville Road and Lutterworth Road in the aftermath of the incident and drivers were being urged to avoid the area.