Shoppers at Bluewater shopping centre in Kent were forced to flee in panic this afternoon after a fire alarm was triggered. The alarm was caused by a cooking appliance in a Nando's restaurant, police later confirmed.
Kent Police tweeted: 'Fire alarm caused by cooking appliance in a food outlet. Please do not panic.' However, unconfirmed reports from Kent 999s suggested someone shouted the word 'bomb' in the food court, leading to widespread panic.
Frightened shoppers took to social media to express their confusion and fear. One tweeted: 'Why the f*** did I just run for my life out of #bluewater shopping centre?!' Another asked: 'Anyone know what has happened at Bluewater? Everyone suddenly running like mad and evacuating all the shops.'
An eyewitness on Facebook described hearing a loud bang before the fire alarms and evacuation announcement. She wrote: 'The sheer panic on people’s faces was awful. Food thrown everywhere, shopping left everywhere, baby prams tipped over, people literally running away fearing for their lives.'
Former Formula 1 driver Jenson Button was at the centre for a book signing at Waterstones, but it is unclear if he was caught up in the incident.
