Firefighters tackled a fire inside WestQuay Centre this afternoon.

Crews raced to the shopping centre in Southampton at around 5.10pm after smoke was spotted inside M&S.

Three engines and more than a dozen firefighters were called to the centre.

They tackled a small fire inside a fridge at Marks and Spencer and the flames were quickly doused.

In a statement the service said: "We found a small fire in a fridge in the food hall of the centre's M&S store and crews from Southampton quickly extinguished it using two jets. The store's sprinklers also activated to help deal with the fire.

"The centre was evacuated but was closing at that time anyway. The stop message was received at 18.07."

The cause of the fire was unclear but no-one was thought to have been injured in the emergency.

The shops had already shut at 5pm but restaurants on the upper levels were due to have closed at 6pm as it is New Year's Eve.

An ambulance was called out and was on standby on Portland Terrace.

The police closed the road and diverted northbound traffic away from the street along Bargate Street.