Maidstone Crown Court was evacuated this afternoon following a false alarm.

People, including solicitors, jurors and defendants, stood outside the building in Barker Road in the rain waiting to be told it was safe to return to court.

After a short while they were allowed back inside.

Some of those standing outside believed a fire alarm had caused the evacuation while others thought a hoax call to the authorities had sparked the action.

John Parker was attending a court hearing at the time of the evacuation. He had been waiting outside for about 45 minutes.

He said: "The alarm just went off and everyone got evacuated. Everyone was calm and we all just came outside."

But a Courts and Tribunals Service spokesman confirmed the evacuation was sparked by an alarm sounding in error, with officials looking into what had triggered it.