The sight of a smoke filled shop in Ashford greeted music fans leaving a concert last night.

Firefighters were called to Boots the chemist in the High Street at around 10pm, shortly before people attending nearby Revelations St Mary's gig were making their way home.

Two appliances, one from Folkestone and another from Lenham, attended the scene, as Ashford crews dealt with a serious crash in New Romney.

Among the concert goers was Folkestone and Hythe Express reporter Matt Leclere.

He said: "It was a strange sight to be greeted by as I came out of the Churchyard.

"Speaking to the guys on the scene, it seems that this was being treated as a false alarm.

"Apparently a device called a smoke cloak had gone off, but there was no sign of a break in."

A smoke cloak is an electronic security device which is connected to an intruder alarm system.

When activated, it produces a large volume of harmless dense white vapour which gives the appearance of fog or smoke.

It is designed to completely fill the area being protected by reducing visibility within 60 seconds to less than 30 cm.