Bracknell flat residents return after suspected chemical leak

Residents have been allowed back into their homes after a block of flats was evacuated following a suspected chemical leak.

Suspected chemicals were found in the flats in Lynn Crescent in Bracknell, Berkshire, after a water leak early on Sunday.

Police said residents were moved out as a precaution while the Royal Logistics Corps (RLC) assessed the substances.

They were able to return later on Sunday.

Bracknell Leisure Centre in Bagshot Road had been been set up as a rest centre for those people who had to leave their homes.

Resident Jackie Hutchings described how police officers called at her door at about 10:00 BST, instructing her to leave her flat.

"I thought it was a prank, then we soon realised it wasn't and panic set in, then it was 'what do we need to take with us?'"

Ms Hutchings, who runs a dog-walking business from her home, took three dogs to a nearby park before staying with a friend in Fleet, Hampshire.

Another resident, Kerry Walton, said she opened her front door on Sunday morning after her son saw police taping off the area and was told by neighbours they had to get out.

"It was the quickest we'd ever packed," she said.

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