Durian smell mistaken for gas leak in English town

The king of fruits caused panic among locals in the English town of Lytham St Annes after being mistaken for a gas leak.

The durian, known best for its pungent stench and rich, creamy texture, sparked concern in the seaside town when a gas engineer turned up along a row of shophouses to attend to complaints of a "strong smell" of gas emanating from the area on Sept 16.

Two store assistants of a fruit and vegetable shop, Mr Wai Peng Cheng, 51, and his partner Candy Pooi Kuan Lam, 46, told British daily The Times that they had no idea what was going on when they saw a gas engineer from the Cadent gas company enter a nearby charity shop.

"About an hour later he tried the body care shop on the other side before coming inside Strongs," Mr Cheng, who works at the Strongs Fruit and Veg shop, said. He said that the engineer told him he was looking for a gas leak and that the charity shop next door had reported the "leak" after a customer told them about a "strong gassy smell".

Mr Cheng then realised that the stench was coming from the durian that the store had received earlier that day.

"When he mentioned the smell, I told him it was the durian but he didn't believe me at first. It was only when I took him outside and gave one to him that he realised. We all just started laughing. It was hilarious," Mr Cheng told The Times.

Mr Cheng and Ms Lam had seen the fruit on a recent trip to Malaysia and suggested that the shop owner, Mr Andrew Simpkins, import it for sale.

The durian had been delivered earlier on Sept 16 and was priced at £22 (S$38) for 500g.

"I knew it smelled bad but I didn't think it would bring the gas board out. They told me there were some police officers there too," said Mr Simpkins. He added that despite the incident, the fruit had "flown off the shelf".

The head of operational delivery at Cadent gas' north-west branch confirmed that there was no trace of gas in the area.