A small fire at the Bluewater shopping centre this morning prompted plans to evacuate the giant complex near Greenhithe on one of busiest shopping days of the year.

The alarms went off inside Jamie’s Kitchen restaurant and initially shoppers were asked to leave shortly before 9am.

A spokesman for Bluewater confirmed an area of the centre had been cordoned-off and evacuation plans put into place, but that shortly afterwards the centre was opened back up ready for an influx of thousands of Christmas shoppers expected to visit the giant shopping centre just off the A2.

In a statement Bluewater said: "The Plaza area of Bluewater was temporarily cordoned off following a small fire at Jamie's restaurant. The matter is now resolved and Bluewater is open as normal."

It is the second time the centre, has been partially evacuated in recent weeks.

During the evening of Saturday, November 21, Bluewater was evacuated over fears about an unattended package.

The item, which police later confirmed as “harmless”, was destroyed in a controlled explosion soon after 9pm following the partial evacuation of the centre, after bomb disposal experts were called out.