CUSTOMERS were evacuated from a Tesco in Yate after a fire broke out in store earlier this evening.

The fire is believed to have been started "deliberately" in a baby changing facility at the Tesco Extra store in Yate Shopping Centre.

Two fire crews from Yate Fire Station and one from Kingswood were called to the scene at 6.26pm.

On arrival, they discovered that the fire had been put out using a Tesco fire extinguisher.

The store was closed while firefighters ventilated the area to get rid of smoke caused by the fire.

A spokeswoman for Avon Fire and Rescue told the Gazette that the fire was being treated as "deliberate ignition". 

She added that no one is believed to have been hurt during the incident.

The store was closed for less than an hour, according to a Tesco spokesman.

He told the Gazette: "Our Yate Extra Store was evacuated for around 40 minutes yesterday evening following a fire in a bin in the baby changing room.

"The store is now trading as normal and we apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused"

People shopping in store at the time took to social media to share their experiences.

Will Dodd was evacuated at 6.20pm and said that he wanted to return to the store to retrieve items from his trolley.

Meanwhile, Twitter user @vicmbond said that she wanted to "go back to Cardiff" after hearing of the fire.

Avon and Somerset Police confirmed that they attended the incident and are treating the fire as "deliberate".

A spokesman told the Gazette: "We're investigating the circumstances. Anyone with information should call 101 and give the reference number 5217145728.”

Did you see the fire? Contact rdi@gazetteseries.co.uk.