A PENSIONER’S death sparked a gas leak scare which led to a road being shut off and the evacuation of several houses.

The body of the unnamed elderly man, thought to be in his 80s, was discovered on Saturday at his home in Manchester Road, Baxenden.

A friend had called at the house and after getting no answer had peered through a window and seen the man slumped on the floor.

Emergency services were called at around 1pm. The road was closed off for several hours and neighbours were evacuated amid fears of an explosion.

Workers from Transco were called to secure the scene before paramedics entered the building and confirmed the pensioner was dead.

A post-mortem examination will be carried out in the next few days.

Insp Stuart Bruce said: “The man's death is not being treated as suspicious, although it is currently unclear if he collapsed while an appliance was on, causing the abundance of gas in the house, or if a gas leak lead to his death.

“A small number of people were evacuated, although as it was midday many of the homes were already empty.”

One of the residents evacuated said: “It was such a shock.

"We had no idea what was going on but it was scary when they said there was gas.”