A HAMPSHIRE community was today returning to normality after a weekend of drama which saw them evacuated from their homes amid fears of a major blast.

More than 800 people were woken by police in the early hours of Saturday morning and told to leave the comfort of their duvets.

The emergency situation was sparked after a fire broke out in a shed in the back garden of a Portchester house where there was a 4ft cylinder containing oxyacetylene gas.

Fire crews called in back-up when the oxyacetylene - used to create high temperatures for cutting or welding - was discovered.

Police are now treating the fire as arson.

Yesterday the man living at the property, who asked not to be named, said he was sorry for all the disruption the incident had caused. He refused to divulge why he had canisters in his shed but said he had spoken to police who have confirmed they are not taking any action.

Hundreds of people living in the roads evacuated were directed to the local community centre, where councillors and Fareham Borough Council staff served breakfast. Centre manager Erica Verity threw the doors open to offer shelter to groups of neighbours from Myrtle Avenue, Sunningdale Road and Castle Grove. They had been woken at 5.30am while it was still dark and ordered out of their homes.

Most residents in Myrtle Avenue, where the fire broke out, had been woken when fire engines and police arrived. Less than an hour later, a 24-hour exclusion zone was imposed.

Those who did not have friends and family living close by to go to spent the day at the Westlands Grove centre while council bosses found them accommodation at nearby hotels.

On the day when a government report revealed half of all councils have no evacuation plans for major incidents, local emergency planning teams came up trumps. Two days after attending a disaster planning conference in Fareham, Hampshire County Council had an emergency planning team on the scene almost immediately for what was the 14th such incident of this type in the past two years in the county.

Teenagers had TV and music to entertain them, there were toys for the children and some families even brought their pets to the centre. A coach was brought in to take those without transport to the community centre and later to bed and breakfast accommodation.

Fareham council spokesman David Perry added: "The waiting has been very frustrating. There may even be some delayed shock but people are in good spirits."

Throughout the day, police and fire crews continued their work on the ground. If the fire had heated the gas to a certain point, a huge explosion could have occurred.

A Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: "It took a couple of hours to put out the initial fire, then it was a matter of cooling the canister with a constant flow of water and monitoring the temperature with a thermal imaging camera. About 20 firefighters attended at first then we had a one pump watch with five firefighters keeping a vigil until 11pm on Saturday.

"If it had exploded there would have been a big bang. The canister would have gone off in any direction like a torpedo. Faced with a situation like that it's better to be safe than sorry."

Uniformed police officers were the lone occupiers of the normally busy residential streets as they patrolled the cordon.

Sergeant Simon Tribe of Hampshire police, said: "Between 20 and 30 officers from Fareham, Gosport and Cosham attended the scene. Our main involvement was with the evacuation of the residents. It was a precautionary measure. We were advised by specialists to keep residents within 200 metres out for 24 hours. The cordons were lifted at about 10pm on Saturday but we advised residents not to return home until 6am on Sunday morning."

He added: "It is not illegal to keep oxyacetylene on residential premises. People do use it for welding and DIY. But it is dangerous when it is exposed to heat."

He confirmed the blaze was being treated as arson and asked for anyone with information to call 0845 045 4545.