BASINGSTOKE'S shopping centre was evacuated after a boiler room leak set off a series of sprinklers.

A crew from Basingstoke Fire Station were called at 8.51pm on Tuesday, July 5, after an alarm was reported and there was said to be water leaking into units at Festival Place.

The boiler room had flooded causing a number of sprinkler heads to activate.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service confirmed that firefighters isolated the sprinklers and electric supply before handing the incident over to the responsible person on site.

They left the scene at 9.36pm.

People out enjoying a meal around Festival Square were forced to stand outside the restaurants, and reported seeing firefighters entering Five Guys burger chain.

One resident who was eating at Cote Brasserie said: "The staff in Cote were amazing and calmly evacuated the restaurnt. I felt really sorry for them, as they probably ended up losing business and apparently it was the second time that day [it had happened]."

A spokesperson for Festival Place said: "We can confirm that last night (Tues, July 5) around 9pm part of the centre was evacuated after an issue in a boiler room set off the sprinkler system in Five Guys.

"The safety of our customers and teams is always our first priority. We are sorry that people’s evenings were disrupted, but would like to thank staff and customers for their co-operation."

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