A POTENTIALLY dangerous gas leak has been left unattended in a Walthamstow street for more than a week, a resident says.

Janet Wright, a journalist, of Chewton Road, said there was a large hole in the pavement at the corner of Blackhorse Road and Chewton Road, and has been able to smell gas since December 21.

She said: “Somebody was checking to see whether gas was leaking into the houses today.

“I asked when it would be fixed but because of the holiday, it won't be done until the new year.

“There's gas pouring into the street.”

As well as the risk of explosion caused by the gas, she also fears a child could fall into the hole in the pavement.

“There's a bit of fencing round the hole but a small child would be through that in a flash,”

Ms Wright said.

“I've been away over Christmas and I couldn't believe it was still there. It doesn't matter if it's Christmas – it's an emergency.”

She added that icy conditions could exacerbate the risk and fears an accident is likely to happen.

She said: “It would be absolutely terrifying if a child fell in. An old person could also put their foot straight into it.”

The leak is near a busy main road, as well as St Patrick's Primary School and Ms Wright said people were being forced to squeeze past the hole in order to walk on the pavement.

She added: “My father-in-law, who is a retired gas engineer, could hardly believe the leak was being left as it is for weeks.”

A spokeswoman for the National Grid, which maintains gas supplies around the UK, said: "We are sending out an engineer today to have a look with a view to making sure our signage is correct and our barriers are in the right places and the extra hole is cordoned off.

"We will continue to monitor the excavation and the gas escape as we are venting gas as part of our process.

"We will repair the excavation as soon as possible. It's perfectly safe as long as people treat it with due respect, for example by not smoking in the vicinity.

"This is less dangerous than if gas is left to build up underground."