PART of Bournemouth town centre was closed for nearly three hours on Saturday at prime shopping time after an underground electrical fire.

Dingles, the Arcade on Old Christchurch Road, and shops nearby were evacuated.

Fire crews were called at 10.44am by an automatic alarm at the House of Fraser and they found a fire in an electrical cupboard.

Crews also attended from Poole, Christchurch and Ferndown and Carbon Dioxide extinguishers were used to put out the blaze.

Electrical workers and firemen checked the damage in a smoke filled basement, and tested the cabling, and the Arcade and Dingles were both open by 1.30pm.

However several shops on Gervis Place were still shut, including SpaceNK and Steamer Trading, which were either side of a doorway leading to the affected basement.

Workmen at the site said the power cable was still broken and that part of the pavement may need digging up to repair it.

Watch manager firefighter Chris Pack said no-one had been injured.

He said at the scene: "They carried out standard tests for repairs but we are going to remain just in case. There was a large quantity of smoke in a basement."