Houghton Hall Garden Centre in Cumbria was evacuated when a fire broke out on Friday morning.

The incident happened at the Carlisle garden centre just after 11.30am.The fire was on part of the building’s exterior.

Firefighter Mike Clusker said that, despite its small size, it was a difficult fire to put out. It was in a corrugated part of the outside wall, which is foam filled. However, crews managed to extinguish it.

Two firefighters were sent into the building to remove parts of the ceiling to check for further signs of the blaze. Crews then used a fan to clear smoke from the interior.

The centre was open when the fire started but smoke alarms alerted staff to the blaze and the building was evacuated.