Businesses have been evacuated after a blaze broke out in a city centre restaurant.
Firefighters were called to McDonald’s in Friargate, Preston, at around 8.40am on Thursday, following reports a blaze had broken out in the kitchen of the restaurant.
Roads in the area including Market Street and Friargate were closed, while firefighters tackled the blaze, which was said to have been largely extinguished by 9.30pm.
Police confirmed the roads remained closed at 10.45am and a number of nearby shops have been evacuated.
Lyndsey Hall, 26, of Ribbleton Hall Lane, Preston, was in McDonald’s when the fire started.
She said: “I went to the till and the fryer exploded.
“It was all on the floor.
“I went and sat down and had my breakfast and then five minutes later we were told to leave.
“There is thick black smoke, you can’t see inside McDonald’s.
“There were about six of us inside McDonald’s and we ran out. It was pretty scary.”
Shocked witnesses reported seeing thick, black plumes of smoke pouring out of the back of the McDonald’s restaurant which could be seen throughout Preston.
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