More than 50 homes were evacuated after a digger cut through a gas main on a housing estate earlier today.
The incident happened in Springwell Lane, Whetstone, shortly after midday.
Dozens of residents in the area had to leave their homes, while others arrived back from work or school to be told they could not get inside.
Evacuation centres were set up at the nearby headquarters of the county FA and a local school.
Four fire crews and a command support vehicle were sent to the scene by Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service.
Firefighters and National Grid workers said residents had reported a strong smell of gas - with people saying it could be smelled from as far away as Cosby, almost two miles away.
Holmes Park, headquarters of the Leicestershire & Rutland County FA, and nearby Badgerbrook Primary School were opened up to people who could not get into their homes.
Among those taking refuge at Holmes Park was 43-year-old Leanne Johnson and her eight-year-old daughter, Lottie.
Mrs Johnson, 43, of Grebe Way, said: "I came back home at about 12.30pm to find a fire engine blocking the road. A gas board man said the street had been evacuated and we had to get out.
"Then we were allowed back in and I was just making a cup of tea when the fire brigade knocked on the door and said we had to get out.
"There was a really strong smell of gas. You could hear it hissing out. I went to the
park for an hour and I got Lottie out of school. Then we came here, but we haven't had anything to eat."
Helen Jackson, of Springwell Lane, was at Holmes Park with her two children, Thomas, four, and two-year-old Lucy.
She said: "I only live 20 metres away and someone came round and said we had to get out. You could smell the gas when you went outside."
Friend Zoe Kirby, who was visiting from Cambridge, was there with her three-year-old daughter Gabrielle.
She said: "The firemen told me I couldn't start my car which was parked on the drive, so I'm stuck here. It's not been a lot of fun with three children under the age of five."
Jane Loines, who arrived home from work to find out she could not get to her house in Flamingo Drive, said: "It's a nightmare, it's not what you expect to come home to. My daughter rang from school, she was in tears."
Peacock Drive resident Melissa Stewart said: "No-one knows how long it's going to be before we can get back to our homes."
Incident commander Wayne Gale, of Wigston fire station, said: "It was a major gas leak which could be smelled from as far away as Cosby.
"It was potentially very dangerous and we started evacuating people from their homes when we got here. Most people understood why we were doing it."
A National Grid spokeswoman said: "The fire brigade left the scene at 5.15pm, the police at 6pm.
"People in the 52 homes evacuated started going back into their properties by 4.45pm.
"We have carried out temporary repairs to the main. It hasn't affected anyone's gas supplies in the area."
It is understood the gas pipe was struck by a digger laying drains for a new development of about 10 homes in Springwell Lane, which is being built by Cadeby Homes.
Contractors at the scene said they did not want to comment.
