Downtown 'gas leak' clears the streets—when firefighters found the source, the truth was stranger than fiction
A potential gas leak or fire can be a serious hazard and might send residents of any area into complete panic. But surprisingly enough, one gas leak concern that caused frenzy in a Lancashire town happened to have a somewhat hilarious source. People in Lytham St Annes were worried when someone reported a strong and foul smell of gas coming from the high street in the town. The authorities were informed and an engineer from the Cadent gas company came in to check for leaks. The person was surprised to find the real reason, per The Times.
A charity shop first raised concern about the smell and the engineer came in a few hours later and started looking for the source of the leak. The engineer walked around the area and also chanced upon a grocery store next door to the charity shop. The store assistant, Wai Peng Cheng and his partner, Candy Pooi Kuan Lam, noticed the person walking around, but they didn't know what had happened. "We saw a gas engineer pull up in front of the shop at around 1 pm and he went into the charity shop next door. About an hour later, he tried the body care shop on the other side before coming inside Strongs," Cheng recounted. The engineer explained his dilemma to the store assistant and pointed out that he was looking for a gas leak.
"He said he was looking for a gas leak and that the charity shop next door had reported it after a customer told them about the strong gassy smell," Cheng went on. The duo immediately realized the source of the concern. They knew that the smell was coming from the Durian that had been newly brought into the store. The fruit popular in Southeast Asia is known for its strong smell and is even hailed as the "smelliest fruit in the world." Lam and Cheng had tried the fruit on a trip to Malaysia and asked the store owner, Andrew Simpkins, if they could sell the fruit at the store. Simpkins agreed to it.
"I knew it smelled bad, but I didn’t think it would bring the gas board out. They told me there were some police officers there, too," Simpkins shared. "When he mentioned the smell, I told him it was the durian, but he didn’t believe me at first. It was only when I took him outside and gave one to him that he realised. We all just started laughing. It was hilarious," Cheng continued. The company still tried to make sure that there were no other signs of a gas leak and came up empty-handed, per Phil Hendrick, head of operational delivery at the company's northwest branch.
"Over the years, we’ve traced reported smells to a variety of sources — from factory discharges and aviation fuel, to dockside activities and on this occasion, durian fruit, which is known for its particularly strong odour," Hendrick admitted. Nonetheless, the shop started selling the fruit on September 16 and a week later, Simpkins was happy to report that Durian had become really popular among his customers in spite of the smell.