About 70 people were evacuated from their homes after a gas main ruptured in Glasgow.

Roads and rail services were also disrupted after the discovery of the leak in the Hillington area of the city on Wednesday morning.

Gas company Transco said its staff had managed to isolate the damaged pipe but about 100 homes were without gas while repairs were taking place.

Council officials expected that some 67 people who had been moved from their homes in the early hours of this morning would be allowed to return on Wednesday evening.

It appeared at first to be like a water main, but it transpired to be gas

Resident Mike Shields

The high pressure rupture was detected at the junction of Linburn Road and Linburn Place at around 0220BST after a smell of gas was reported.

Those living within 100 metres of the site were evacuated and taken to a local community centre.

Resident Mike Shields said he was woken up by a firefighter banging on his door.

He was told to evacuate his home as quickly as possible because of the gas leak.

Roads closed

"It appeared at first to be like a water main, but it transpired to be gas.

"It was blowing across the buildings and we began to smell it," he said.

A number of roads were closed in the area, including the access to the M8 motorway from Hillington.

A Transco spokeswoman said: "The gas escape has now been secured but we obviously still need to carry out the permanent repair on the damaged pipe."

The area was cordoned off

She said that the gas supply to Leverndale Hospital and Ross Hall Hospital, both on Crookston Road, had been cut until further notice.

The Rolls-Royce factory at Hillington was also affected.

Railtrack said it had reopened the line between Glasgow Central and Paisley Gilmour Street, which had been shut since the early morning following the leak.

Strathclyde Fire Brigade said they were still attending the scene and had sent new officers to relieve their colleagues.

A spokesman said 40 of those removed from their homes had stayed at Penilee Community Centre, while the others had managed to find shelter with friends and relatives.

Linburn School, a secondary school for special needs children which is near to the site, was to be closed for the rest of today while work took place.