Residents were forced to flee their homes on Monday morning after a mini volcano erupted on their street.

A gas leak which had been ignited by nearby electric cables had caused a jet of fire to spurt up from the road.

A firefighter from Mitcham Fire and Rescue told Your Local Guardian.co.uk that the fire resembled a “mini volcano”.

“Gas leaks, to be honest, are quite common but you very seldom see it create a fire of this sort.

“Luckily no one was injured but it was obviously frightening for many of people who had to stand out on the street in their dressing gowns.”

Around six homes in Homefield Gardens, Mitcham, had to be evacuated following the incident.

Engineers from gas provider Southern Gas Networks were called out around 9 pm the night before and stayed on the scene until 4 am.

“When gas engineers arrived on site it became clear that a damaged electricity cable had contributed to the escape of gas from our network, creating an ignition point,” a spokesman said.

“When gas escaped from this pipe it subsequently caused a fire.  Our engineers made the situation safe and there were no safety concerns." 

Electricity provider UK Power Networks said, "Engineers were contacted about a gas leak at 3.35 am (Tuesday 15). Our staff attended to isolate power supplies to 36 customers for safety reasons.

"Engineers worked as swiftly as safely possible to restore electricity supplies with all but two customer supplies reconnected by 11.55 am yesterday. We apologise to customers for the inconvenience the interruption to electricity supplies has caused. The cause will be investigated."