Shoppers were evacuated from atria Watford this morning after a fire alarm went off.

The shopping centre confirmed the alarm was accidently triggered.

In a video shared with the Watford Observer, people can be seen standing outside between the Metro Bank and the Tortilla restaurant and the sound of an alarm can be heard in the background.

Video by Carl Abela

Carl Abela, 28, was near Sports Direct in the centre when the alarm went off at around 9.15am.

He said: “It was a normal fire alarm and then the security guards told us to evacuate and go on to the streets.”

The medical responder who was out shopping for the day said everyone was allowed back in by about 10am.

He added: “There was no panic, everyone was calm, and no-one was screaming.

“I wasn’t too concerned. I didn’t see anyone injured or anything out of the ordinary and I didn’t see any emergency service on site either, which made me think it might have been a false alarm.”  

Atria Watford added: “We’d like to apologise for any disruption and thank everyone for their co-operation.”