UK police respond to 'major incident' in Leicester

Police close local roads, advise people to avoid area

LONDON: British police are responding to a "major incident" in Leicester, a city in central England, after reports of an explosion, police and fire services said on Sunday.

"There has been a major incident..." Leicestershire police wrote on Twitter. "All emergency services are currently dealing with this."

It advised people to "please avoid the area" and added that local roads had been closed.



Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service received calls at around 7:00 pm (1900 GMT) from the public reporting an explosion and a fire, a spokeswoman said.

It immediately dispatched six fire engines, she added.

"We were en route when the police called to say a building had collapsed," the spokeswoman said.



Additional specialist search and rescue units were then dispatched, including a search and rescue dog from neighbouring Lincolnshire county, she added.

"We've got no indication of what the cause is at this moment," the spokeswoman said.

Pictures and videos posted on social media showed a property engulfed in flames visible from a distance.