French factory gas leak blamed for school evacuation

Southern Gas Networks was called after staff at the school smelt gas and an initial evacuation was advised.
The pupils were sent to St George’s Church while the smell was investigated, however, no leak was found.
The cause of the smell was thought to be the same as that which has affected the south east of England - a leak of harmless gas from Rouen in France.
Headteacher, Fiona Henderson, said: “There was a strong smell of gas so we called the gas board who advised us to evacuate.
“We put in place our critical incident plan which has worked really well.
“The safety of our children comes first.”
A parent said: “This school really looks after their children but sometimes they can over-react.
“I’m not concerned but if there has been gas in the area it makes me wonder what the quality of the air we’re breathing is like.”
As well as Wash Common, people in and around Newbury have reported smelling gas today too following the leak from Rouen.
Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service said it also received a steady stream of calls reporting a strong gas smell.
However, group manager, Tony Deacon, said: “Our control room has dealt with a number of calls reporting the unpleasant gas smell.
The Health Protection Agency also said in a statement: “The smell drifting over Southern England today poses no risk to public health. The odour, which is similar to rotten eggs, has been noticed by people mainly in Kent, East and West Sussex and some parts of Surrey.
"It is caused by a particularly smelly chemical that is added to odourless natural gas to give that its characteristic smell.
The chemical leaked from a factory in Rouen, France yesterday and has blown across the Channel overnight. It is not toxic and has also been diluted before entering the air over England, so people should be reassured it will cause no harm. It is an unpleasant odour which may cause some people to feel slightly nauseous but it will dispel naturally."