Hundreds of children evacuated from East Lothian primary school after gas scare

Hundreds of pupils were evacuated on Tuesday after emergency gas repairs had to be carried out on the street outside their school in Prestonpans.

Children attending St Gabriel’s Primary School and Nursery were moved to the local church hall as a precaution, with residents of a number of homes also alerted to the incident.

East Lothian Council said SGN advised them to take children out of school while they carried out repairs on South Grange Avenue in the town.

The school, which has more than 230 students enrolled, remains closed for the rest of the day and parents and educators have been asked to collect the young people from the room.

A council spokesperson said: “School staff have supported children to move in accordance with our planned emergency protocols and into the space they are familiar with.

“School staff will stay with the children for the rest of the day to care for those who cannot be collected. All children are safe and supported.

“SGN informed us that two neighboring properties were also evacuated. The company deals directly with affected households.

“An emergency road closure has been put in place on South Grange Avenue, between Grange Grove and Grange Crescent East. Our road team is aware and assists SGN in its traffic management.

“We remain in contact with SGN regarding the incident, likely repair times and any assistance required and will provide further information, including timelines for the school to reopen, as soon as possible.”

An SGN spokesperson said: “We are carrying out urgent repairs to our gas network in South Grange Avenue, Prestonpans after a smell of gas was reported this morning.

“Our engineers are carrying out investigations in the area and we have evacuated some properties, including St Gabriel’s primary school and nursery, to ensure everyone’s safety. The school transferred the pupils to St Gabriel’s RC Church Hall before contacting parents and guardians to collect the children from there.

“We have also partially closed South Grange Avenue to motorists around our site and local diversions are in place between Grange Road and Grange Grove, to enable us to safely locate the gas leak and repair the affected pipe.

“It is too early to say how long repairs will take and when it will be possible for people to safely re-occupy evacuated properties. We are constantly monitoring the situation and working hard to identify the source of the leak and make necessary repairs as soon as possible.