A NORTH shopping centre had to be evacuated today after a fire.

Darlington town centre was cordoned off and hundreds of staff and shoppers had to wait in the streets outside the Cornmill Centre after a blaze broke out in the malls loading bay.

Two fire crews from Darlington were on the scene within minutes and the blaze, in the deliveries dock at Priestgate, was out by 2.45pm.

It was the second emergency in Darlington town centre in two days, after shoppers spotted smoke rising from a manhole at High Row on Tuesday afternoon.

Cornmill Centre manager Susan Young said the shopping mall will remain closed until later today while a full health and safety inspection of the building is carried out.