A BUILDER has described the terrifying moment a gas main exploded in his face as he worked on a Hampshire driveway.

Ronald Jones was using a jackhammer when the heavy-duty tool went through an electrical cable and gas pipe just inches underneath the road surface.

A fireball blew up in his face and seven homes had to be evacuated as firefighters dealt with the resulting blaze.

Mr Jones, 67, said: "It just blew me away. It was frightening. It burnt my face.

"I was digging a trench and there was four inches already off the top and we had to get another eight inches to get a pipe in.

"The electric and gas were next to each other.

"It could have killed me. The flame just caught me and the whole jackhammer caught fire."

Mr Jones' business partner Nick Cremin added: "He's very lucky - it was terrifying."

The fire started just after 9am yesterday in Singleton Way, Totton. Eleven people and a dog were led to safety from their homes.

Southern Gas Network (SGN) were called out to shut off the gas to the blaze and repair the pipes while electrical engineers fixed the cables.

Resident Jason Robinson was at home with his daughter when the explosion happened. He said: "There were three or four ambulances here.

"There was a big bang and it caught light straight away. The jackhammer's blade was only about 200mm, it shows you how shallow they are under the ground."

Around 15 firefighters were called to the scene from Totton and Redbridge Hill fire stations. Watch manager Simon Packer said: "We were called to put out the burst main that was on fire. We let it burn and kept an eye on it.

"We'd just like to say that if anyone is using electrical digging tools, if there any doubts at all then they should use hand tools.

"Mr Jones was very lucky because there is a high pressure gas main there and if he'd gone through that the flames would have been higher than the house, as it was it was about four feet high."

A spokesman for SGN said: "SGN was called to Singleton Way, Totton, earlier today after a gas service pipe was damaged by a third party.

"The incident led to a small fire and seven properties were evacuated for safety reasons.

"The fire was extinguished after the supply to the damaged gas pipe was isolated.

"We’ve now finished repairing the pipe, which means the affected properties can be reoccupied."