By Tony O’Riley-
Covid-19 fears were sounded this morning as residents were evacuated from their homes after reports of a smell and an assault in one of the properties.
They have been permitted back to their homes, following an evacuation of over 30 homes in Nottingham . Emergency services were called to Baden Powell Road at around 6.40am on Wednesday, April 8.
Residents were left confused after about 30 homes were evacuated as a precaution, following the smell of gas reported from a property and a report of assault. The residents were then bundled into a local church whilst police conducted investigations. A local man was livid about the incidence. Marcus Stephenson, 28 told The Eye Of Media.Com by phone:
”it was a bit scary, you had people wondering what was going on. Some people near me thought it was a case of domestic violence because you know with this lockdown, a lot of abusive partners are exploiting it and if the victim talks back out of anger, all hell breaks lose.
People were also worried that not everybody waiting to return to their homes was observing the 2 metre social distancing rules and people were talking loud in frustration, and you had others telling people not to come too close in case they have the coronavirus. Locals shared the same feeling of discomfort and disappointment.
Another woman who insisted on anonymity said:
”the whole thing was worrying because nobody knew what was happening. People were saying someone had tried to gas the whole building up, others were saying it was a domestic violence incidence. But the most scary thing was how cramped up people were, the coronavirus could have easily spread in the couple of hours people were standing close to each other. You even had idiots claiming to have the virus and coughing to tease people”.
A man was subsequently arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm and making threats to kill in connection with the incident.Police say they are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident and say no-one was injured
Inspector Tim Ringer, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Our officers were in attendance to help secure the area and ensure the public were safe while the incident was dealt with.
“I would like to thank people for their patience and cooperation while the incident was being dealt with during what is an exceptionally difficult time for all our communities.
“I’m pleased residents were able to return to their homes after it was deemed to be safe for them to do so.”
According to the traffic monitoring site Inrix, Colwick Road was shut in both directions and traffic was slow due to the incident between Port Arthur Road and Lyndhurst Road.
Officers taped off the area as part of the investigation. Those evacuated were taken to a local church hall and residents have been allowed back to their homes.
Image:© french_mikey