City centre shops evacuated after foul-smelling fruit mistaken for gas leak

Firefighters evacuated a row of shops In Plymouth city centre after being called to a suspected gas leak - only to discover it was the smell of stinking fruit. Shoppers, office workers and employees of the stores waited behind a cordon while fire crews investigated the gassy smell on New George Street, at around 4.30pm on Saturday.



Customers in Premier Stores had complained of the strong smell of gas, so concerned shop workers reported it to emergency services as a precaution. Within minutes it had been passed on to fire crews who arrived to evacuate the shop while they tried to find the source of the leak. Police, firefighters and staff from Wales and West Utilities were on the scene.

Nearby businesses were also asked to evacuate. But the culprit of the stench turned out to be a truck load of durian fruit, which were being delivered to Asian grocery store YW Foods behind New George Street. Durians are distinctive for their large size, strong odour, and formidable thorn-covered husk.



Lotus We, who works in YW Foods said: “We just had a delivery and put them in the fridges as normal. Some of the firefighters came in and asked if we had gas, we said no and said it might be the fruit as they have a strong smell. They are a popular fruit in Thailand – they are sold by weight – one we sold earlier today was £27.” Dozens of people gathered outside the cordons until the public and shop employees were allowed back into the area at around 5pm.