Dozens of residents were stuck out in the cold for until 1.30am after a car crashed into gas pipes near Northampton town centre on Wednesday night (December 22).
Police and firefighters threw a 60-metre cordon around flats in Old Towcester Road, Cotton End and quickly evacuated a number of residents in a nearby block of flats after finding a gas leak at around 10.15pm.
A Northamptonshire Police spokesman said residents were given hot drinks and support while they waited to get back into their homes in Cotton Court.
No information has been given by police about the nature of the crash or vehicle involved.
Engineers from Cadent Utilities, which manages the country's gas supply network, isolated the supply to allow people were allowed back into their homes about three hours after the incident started.