SCORES of students were evacuated from a newly built tower block in Southampton following a late night fire scare.

The young people were forced to flee the Crescent Place halls of residence in St Mary’s Road when the alarms sounded at the block at 11pm last night.

Five fire engines from St Mary’s, Redbridge and Hightown fire stations rushed to the building.

But when they arrived they discovered the alarms had been set off when someone had burned food while cooking.

Firefighter Rob Cawnen said: “People need to be aware of the dangers of cooking late at night.

"People should ensure they do not leave it unattended and make sure that when alarms go off everyone evacuates.”