An early morning crash sparked a gas leak alert in Walkerburn after a vehicle smashed through a wall on the main route through the village.
The incident on Monday saw a Nissan car hit a gas pipe after leaving the A72 road near the former George Hotel, leading to engineers from Scotland Gas Networks being called to the scene by firefighters.
The vehicle was left perched over a garden as a result of the accident involving a Vauxhall Astra car at around 8.20am.
Emergency services rushed to the scene and while fire crews from Galashiels and Peebles believed the gas pipe was intact, they were forced to cut metal railings attached to the wall in order to get into the engine of the Nissan and isolate its battery.
The A72 was closed from 8.25am until midday as SGN staff confirmed the pipe had not been broken.
During that time, traffic was forced to use local diversions through the Tweeddale village, although the route was deemed unsuitable for HGVs.
Scottish Borders Council’s building control team were also called after firefighters decided the wall involved in the accident was in an unsafe condition.
Both the female motorist in the Astra and the male driver of the Nissan escaped with minor injuries.
A Police Scotland spokesman told The Southern: “The road was closed for approximately three-and-a-half hours after the incident.
“A 21-year-old man has since been charged with careless driving and a report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal.”
An SBC spokesman added: “The area has been made safe and both pedestrians and vehicles are able to pass through.”