Employees at Medway Council had to leave their desks and evacuate their workplace for about half an hour this morning after a fire alarm went off.

Fire crews from the Towns were called out to the authority’s headquarters at Gun Wharf in Dock Road, Chatham, just before 9.15am after the alarm sounded on the fourth floor of the building.

A spokesman for Kent Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We were called at 9.13am to a fire alarm sounding and crews investigated the fourth floor of the building from where the fire alarm had sounded.

“Firefighters also checked the loft space with a thermal imaging camera to see if there was any hot spots but there was no fire found in the building.”

Crews left the scene at about 9.45am and council employees were able to return to their departments.