FIFTEEN people were temporarily evacuated from their homes on Saturday night after firefighters feared gas canisters inside a burning pub might explode.
Firefighters were called to tackle a blaze at the Cherry Tree Inn, Cwmbran, at 10.09pm.
When it became clear there were gas cylinders inside the burning building, police were asked to evacuate nearby residents.
Six homes were evacuated for an hour until it was safe for residents to return.
PC Rob Young, one of the officers called to the scene, said: "There was concern about the canisters because at one point they were in the seat of the fire."
Thankfully the fire was quickly brought under control so people could return to their homes."
He added that before the fire the pub's owner had been hoping to reopen it as a snooker club.
The 28 firefighters extinguished the fire at 1.24am yesterday morning. The blaze is thought to have been started deliberately.
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