SHOPPERS and staff were evacuated from the Sovereign Centre in Boscombe yesterday morning after a fire broke out in a store electrical sign.

The alarm was raised at 9.47am after the manager of the 99p stores spotted flames coming from a large sign on the outside of the shop.

Crews from Springbourne, Christchurch and Westbourne fire stations attended the incident and put out the fire using a water extinguisher.

99p Stores manager Susan Dalton said: “I came out and noticed there was a spark so I went off to get our fire extinguisher and set off the fire alarm and by the time I looked back there were flames.

“By then the centre was being evacuated and I made an announcement on the tannoy to inform people what was happening.”

She added: “It is lucky that someone wasn’t stood underneath the sign waiting for a relative or a friend because that could have caused serious injury.”

The centre closed for around 10 minutes before it was reopened to staff and shoppers shortly after 10am.

Centre manager Raymond McGlynn said: “The fire brigade were here within minutes and put it out. We evacuated the centre as a safety precaution. The incident was over very quickly and no one was in danger.”

Mike Marsh, maintenance manager at the centre, said air vents in the centre automatically release when the fire alarm goes off to prevent the building becoming smoke-logged. We tackled the fire with our extinguishers to prevent it taking hold but by then the fire brigade were on site to deal with the incident.”