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Police placed a section of the City on lockdown as businesses were evacuated during a gas leak today.

Emergency services were called just after 4pm after the leak was reported near the Moorgate junction of London Wall.

The busy road runs close to both Moorgate and Liverpool Street stations, as well as the Barbican.

A City of London Police spokesman said the majority of London Wall was closed and officers had started evacuating nearby buildings from 4pm.

Witnesses said they had been told there was an "absolutely massive" gas leak and that a section of the road may have to be dug up to deal with the situation.

Eyewitness Aniel Patel said on Twitter: "Security personnel are doing a good job keeping people safe".

A London Fire Brigade spokesman said the alarm was raised a 3.56pm, and fire crews were on scene.

He said fire crews were called to reports of a gas leak from a cellar of a coffee shop and are standing by in case they are needed while engineers work to rectify the problem.

Matt Harris, 42, who owns Fox Fines Wines, which is based in the building of the famous old umbrella shop on London Wall, said his customers and staff had been forced to leave the building when the alarm was raised.

He told the Standard: "My staff are sat outside drinking from plastic cups, waiting to see whether we can open again.

"It's unfortunate because it's a time when people are leaving offices and going for a drink after work, and now they can't get anywhere near us.

"We had quite a few people in, it's annoying because one group had just cracked a bottle and were about to get stuck in for the afternoon.

"We had a star in there too, Mary Beard came to have a glass of wine."

Mr Harris said emergency services at the scene had said the leak was "absolutely massive".

He told the Standard: "They're telling us it's an absolutely massive gas leak in the sub-basement of an office building on London Wall, near the Moorgate junction.

"They said they're going to have to dig the street up to get the gas out."

Mr Harris said there was little panic as City of London Police told customers they had to leave the building.

"We're next door to the pub and we're a wine bar, so people were less panicked," he said.

"They were asking 'can I finish my drink first?'

"In fact people were quite measured, quite calm.

"People were looking, thinking, wondering whether something more serious was going on, but they formed an orderly queue and moved in the direction they were meant to be going in.

"London Fire Brigade and the police are not running around in panic mode, they seem to be waiting for the right people to come out to do what they've got to do."

A 25 metre cordon is in place and City of London Police said approximately 500 people were asked to leave buildings.

Officers said there were no reports of any fatalities or injuries.

People are advised to avoid the area with delays to be expected.

TFL Traffic News tweeted that London Wall is shut eastbound at Wood Street and westbound at Blomfield Street, adding that the closures are expected to be lifted within a couple of hours.