Cathedral fire alarm set off by pigeons

Fire crews spent about 40 minutes at the scene

A fire alarm at Canterbury Cathedral was set off by pigeons disturbing dust, a fire service has said.

Five fire engines responded to the automatic fire alarm at the cathedral shortly before 20:00 BST on Monday.

Kent Fire & Rescue Service crews conducted a thorough check of the site, and the alarm was reset.

The fire service has since said: "It is believed the alarm was activated by dust caused by unsettled pigeons."

A Canterbury Cathedral spokesperson said the alarm came from the Bell Harry Tower.

"Kent Fire and Rescue Service were excellent as ever, and arrived at the scene extremely quickly," they added.

"Our contracted engineers are checking the fire alarm system today [Tuesday] to ensure that everything is working as it should."