A cordon remained in place today leaving a number of residents unable to return to their homes following a garage fire in Bradford.

Leeds Road at Thornbury was reopened shortly after 11.30am but Woodhall Terrace remained sealed off.

A 200-metre cordon had been put in place last night after an acetylene cylinder was discovered near the garage fire in Woodhall Terrace at about 4pm.

A total of 61 homes had to be evacuated following the discovery. Residents were told to leave their homes and were taken to Richard Dunn Sports Centre, Odsal, or made their own arrangements.

Police had urged motorists to try to avoid the area while emergency services continued to deal with the cylinder but major tarffic queues built up during the morning rush hours.

A police spokesman said it was expected firefighters would be at the scene to keep the cylinder cool until this afternoon.