Cathedral evacuated during charity carol concert

During the evacuation, audience members sang Christmas carols outside the cathedral as fire fighters went inside

A cathedral had to be evacuated during a charity Christmas carol concert when a fire a nearby flat set off the building's fire alarm.

Fire crews from Truro, Tolvaddon, Falmouth and Perranporth attended the incident at about 19:30 GMT on Tuesday.

Some fire officers went into Truro Cathedral, but the flat fire was quickly extinguished, Cornwall Fire and Rescue said.

About 700 people attended the Shelterbox event, with many singing carols outside as they waited to go back in.

The charity said its "under the stars" event went well, and that the incident did not "dampen festive spirits".

The alarm started about half an hour into the concert while a choir was singing Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.

Shortly afterwards people were asked to leave through the main entrance and gather outside, where the impromptu sing-a-long took place.

They returned inside after about half an hour and the concert resumed.

Addressing the audience, Sanj Srikanthan, CEO of the disaster relief charity said: "I promise you it was not our plan to give you a taste of displacement this evening, and have you all stand outside.

"It was unplanned but actually a timely reminder of how quickly things can change and how quickly you can lose a roof over your head."