Sheffield customers ‘freezing’ after being kept outside Meadowhall for 20 minutes during evacuation

Shoppers were told to leave Meadowhall at 10am while the shopping centre held its annual fire evacuation.

Meadowhall said this was a ‘routine test required by law as part of the Health & Safety procedures’ as alarms sounded throughout the centre.

Customers gathered outside the store during the drill but many of them were left frustrated by the length of time they were kept in the cold.

One shopper tweeted: “Ok it works now can you let people in. It’s freezing! This is starting to cause a hazard now with everyone piling up.”

Another tweeted: “The alarms have just been turned off but everyone is still outside. We were outside for just over 20 minutes.”

The customer added that it was ‘not too cold in the sunshine’.

Meadowhall tweeted: “The annual fire evacuation went very smoothly and both shoppers and staff have now returned to the Centre. We would like to thank everyone for their co-operation and understanding.”