Smoke filled a Machynlleth shop this afternoon due to a faulty alarm system.

The Fire and Rescue Service was called on Thursday 28 August after intruder alarms went off in the Spar shop.

Manager Dave said the alarms were triggered by a fault, which caused smoke to be emitted in the backroom and at the tills.

Staff waited outside the shop as a fire crew attended the scene. Photo: Cambrian News
Staff waited outside the shop as a fire crew attended the scene. Photo: Cambrian News (Cambrian News)

“No one could see in front of them” due to the ‘smoke blankets’ which were triggered in the late morning at the Spar, which also houses the town post office and a Greggs bakery.

The staff were evacuated and an engine from Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene, but no one was hurt.

The shop was reopened to customers at around 1pm the same day.

Smoke blankets or smoke cloaks are anti-theft systems installed in businesses to reduce property loss during a break-in by obscuring the intruder's vision with a cloud of smoke or ‘fog’.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service has been contacted for comment.