Hayes town centre was closed off for over two hours after a gas leak caused chaos for commuters and shoppers.
The incident, which took place around midday, saw the area between Station Road, Botwell Lane and Clayton Road close to public as emergency services made repair works.
Residents and shoppers were escorted away from the area by Metropolitan police officers in what one shopper called "chaos".
Connor Williams, who was in Costa coffee at the time of the incident, said: "I was in Costa Coffee in Hayes and I was drinking my coffee and the police came in and explained what happened - there was a gas leak, the whole street was chaos and no was able to move and it was bad."
Pippa Wheeler, a veterinary nurse in Medivet Hayes in Nield Road ,was driving towards town where she spotted the disruption.
The 34-year-old told getwestlondon: "I was told by a delivery driver about the police heading towards town.
"I was just trying to get medication for an animal from a pharmacy but the whole town was closed.
"The police had set up cordons so I couldn’t see much.
"They were just evacuating homes above the shops."
The disruption saw buses being diverted away and traffic build up on North Hyde Road as the leak was dealt with.
A spokesman for Hillingdon Council confirmed roads reopened around 2pm.
The cause of the leak is unknown.
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