Hundreds of call centre staff were evacuated from their office block in south Wales following a gas leak.

NTL workers raised the alarm after smelling gas inside the company's headquarters in Cardiff Bay.

NTL provides cable services in urban south Wales

It has been suggested that contractors working on a nearby building site may have hit the mains using digging equipment.

Up to 300 workers at NTL's call centre and HQ were working in the building in the Ely Fields area of the regenerated docklands when the emergency call was made at 1000 BST.

The emergency were called and quickly emptied the building.

Staff gathered at a nearby retail park for an enforced early lunch.

Cordoned

Gas engineers have said they believe building work on an adjacent site may have resulted in a fracture to the gas mains.

Fire crews were put on standby and police cordoned off the area.

Residents of nearby flats did not have to be evacuated.

It was hoped that the fault would be fixed by late on Friday afternoon.