A school has been evacuated and a cordon is in place over a mysterious “weird smell”.
People started reporting a “weird” and “funny” smell in the Roughwood Drive area of Kirkby on Wednesday, January 17. The smell, led to emergency services including Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service and Cadent heading to All Saints High School at around 10.57am.
The school has now sent a text message to parents letting them know students have been evacuated until they have more information.
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The message read: “Apologies but we have had to make the decision to evacuate the building at 2pm today due to an issue with a smell in the area. We are awaiting further information from the Fire Service and Environmental Health for further testing. Thanks.”
Pictures from the scene show crowds of children leaving the school grounds early. The ECHO understands the school was evacuated as a precaution.
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service have confirmed they’re in the area “investigating an unknown smell”. Cadent have also confirmed they are at the scene and have not yet “found any evidence of an issue on the gas network”.
A spokesperson from Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service said: “Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service is in attendance at All Saints High School, Roughwood Drive, Kirkby. Crews were alerted at 10.57am and two fire engines were on scene shortly after.
“Fire crews are currently liaising with Cadent and the Environmental Agency to investigate an unknown smell in the area. Multi-agency meetings are ongoing including Knowsley Council. More information to follow.”
A Cadent spokesperson said: “We have had a larger than usual number of calls today in the L33 postcode area, about a smell that people were concerned is natural gas. We investigate each one and, as yet, have not found any evidence of an issue on the gas network that could have caused this.
“We do gets incidents like this from time to time. In the past, we have traced it to things like factory discharges, aviation fuel, smells from docks activity, and many other reasons. Our concern in incidents like this is that, in amongst the smells that are not gas, there may be an isolated and unrelated real gas leak.
“That’s why it’s important to ring the gas emergency service on 0800 111 999* if you ever smell gas, suspect the presence of carbon monoxide or notice damage to gas pipes.”
Knowsley Council confirmed Knowsley Council’s Environmental Health Team are investigating.
People in the area have taken to social media to report the weird smell. One man said: “I live only a five minute walk away, and you can smell it bad, even people shopping can smell it.”
Another added: “What’s gone on? A friend was up that way before and said there was funny smell to.”
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Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
