Two major supermarkets were evacuated after five fire engines rushed to a retail park in Hedge End.

Hundreds of customers were escorted out of both Sainsbury's and Marks and Spencer shops on Tollbar Way due to a small fire in the biomass store, which creates sustainable energy to heat hot water to the unit.

Five engines attended and an aerial ladder platform was used, as firefighters tackle the flames with one hose reel jet and one main jet. They were called just after 11.30am.

No fire spread to the internal parts of either of the stores, Hampshire Fire confirmed to the Echo.

One engine remained on the scene after as engineers worked in the biomass store, as spotted by Tilly Feltham who snapped a photo of the fire engine parked outside Sainsbury's.

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A customer told the Echo that the Sainsbury's manager told shoppers in the car park that the incident was related to something 'chemical.'

Another customer, who did not wish to be named, was shopping at Sainsbury's with their children at the time of the fire.

They said: "We were all ushered out and to be fair it was a very quick evacuation.

"Lots of people were trying to get back in, but the manager came out and told us we weren't going to be able to.

"We didn't really know there was a fire but it was dealt with really well by the Sainsburys staff."

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Hampshire Fire said: "The Incident Commander would like to praise all the retail staff involved for their swift actions with evacuating the units and for their continued cooperation."

Heavy queues built around the supermarkets, which are just off Junction 7 of the M27.

One person on Facebook said: "Steer clear, traffic is insane."

The fire services told the Echo that businesses returned to operate as normal around 2pm.

Last week Sainsbury's confirmed that their cafe in the Hedge End shop will close as part of the brand's plans to cut 3,000 jobs.

The majority of Sainsbury’s shoppers do not use the cafes regularly, whereas in-store food halls and concessions have grown in popularity, it said.

A date for the cafe closure has not yet been confirmed.