Evacuation after explosion in bin

Six homes were evacuated while police investigated an explosion in a Hertfordshire street.

Officers were called to Lattimore Road, St Albans, after firefighters responded to a call and found a steel bin had been destroyed by an explosive device.

The area was cordoned off and the homes evacuated for five hours on Saturday.

An army bomb disposal squad was called out in case there were further devices but none were found. Police said it was unclear what caused the explosion.

The dustbin was blown apart by something inside it Hertfordshire Police spokesman

However they said the blast was too powerful to have been caused by a firework.

A Hertfordshire Police spokesman said no-one was injured.

He said: "The dustbin was blown apart by something inside it. It has blown the bin to pieces.

"We evacuated premises directly overlooking the scene and we closed the roads around it so we could investigate it.

"The cause of the explosion is still not known and we are conducting a search of what is left of the bin."

The spokesman said part of Victoria Street was also closed after the explosion.