PASSENGERS had to be evacuated from a railway station, roads cordoned off and a pub closed after firefighters discovered a burning gas cylinder in a garage.

Firefighters were called to a blaze at Swallow Motor Co in Long Drive, Ruislip, at 8.17pm on Sunday last week. But a routine incident escalated when they discovered an acetylene gas cylinder, an oxygen cylinder and three liquid petroleum gas cylinders in the garage.

Worryingly, the acetylene cylinder was on fire and experts feared that the high temperature could have caused the highly unstable cylinder to explode.

As a precaution, the surrounding area was evacuated as firefighters worked for 12 hours to cool the cylinder.

British Transport Police closed neighbouring South Ruislip railway station in Long Drive at 9.05pm and did not re-open it until 9.16pm the following day.

Police cordoned off Long Drive and Station Approach until 6am and The Middlesex Arms in Long Drive was cleared at 9pm but opened as normal at 11am the next day.

Landlady Renee McCann said: "There were a lot of firefighters and police. We had to evacuate the building but we had put our children to bed so we were worried about having to wake them up and worry them. But the firefighter said it was OK."

The four fire crews had extinguished the fire by 11.44pm but stayed on to damp down and cool the cylinders.

Relief fire crews wearing breathing apparatus took it in turns to cool the cylinders, gradually moving them away one by one. They left the acetylene cylinder until last as it needed to be cooled for longer. The situation was finally under control by Monday at 9pm.

FIREFIGHTERS worked overnight to put out a blaze at a derelict pub on Thursday last week.

Fire took hold of the Royal Oak public house in Church Road, Hayes at 7.30pm and was eventually doused at 2.30am the following day.