A Weymouth town centre street was cordoned off after an underground cable fault caused smoke to come out of drains sparking fears there had been a major emergency.

There were alarming scenes on St Mary Street today as a fire crew cordoned off part of the pedestrianised shopping area, forcing businesses to temporarily close whilst crews worked to make the scene safe.

It happened outside Shoe Zone, which recently took over the premises previously occupied by McDonald's, and Saltrock - with the smoke spotted at about 11am.

Dorset Echo: A cordon was set up on St Mary Street as a precautionA cordon was set up on St Mary Street as a precaution (Image: Tom Lawrence)

Business owners reported hearing a "loud pop" and smoke was seen coming out of a drain as rumours swirled of a "gas explosion" from underground.

One shopkeeper said he could smell gas outside his shop for around two hours.

The issue was actually caused by an electricity fault on a cable underground which may have been related to a nearby street light.

The fire service kept the cordon up as a precaution until the electricity board took over and created a smaller cordon to fix the fault.

The main cordon in the street was lifted at about 1.45pm. 

Dorset Echo: The fire service cordon was lifted at around 1.45pmThe fire service cordon was lifted at around 1.45pm (Image: Tom Lawrence)

Dorset Echo: Scottish and Southern Electricity set up a smaller cordon around the affected area outside SaltrockScottish and Southern Electricity set up a smaller cordon around the affected area outside Saltrock (Image: Tom Lawrence)

A spokesperson for Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said: "Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) was alerted to an issue with an underground cable in St Mary Street, Weymouth at 11.37am.

“Engineers attended and found a fault on the cable, which may be related to a nearby street light.

Dorset Echo: Engineers from the Scottish and Southern Electric worked to find the source of the faultEngineers from the Scottish and Southern Electric worked to find the source of the fault (Image: Tom Lawrence)

“No power supplies were affected by the fault and there were no signs of a fire in or around the area.”

It is understood that the fault resulted in a small amount of smoke, which escaped from the drain cover and was mistaken for the start of a fire.

Dorset Echo: SSEN engineers took over from the fire service SSEN engineers took over from the fire service (Image: Tom Lawrence)

A spokesperson for Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said: "We were called to St Mary Street, Weymouth at 11.06am this morning after what appeared to be a fire underground involving an electricity cable.

"One crew from Weymouth attended and cordoned off the immediate area as a precaution."

Business owners told of the drama as fire crews began to cordon off the road outside their shops.

Businesses including EE, The Card Factory, KFC, Saltrock, Shoe Zone and the British Heart Foundation were forced to temporarily close whilst the cordon remained in place.

Wanda Hobbs, manager of Saltrock, has described the moment she heard a 'pop' and saw smoke outside the store earlier today.

She said: "We were in the shop, we heard a noise like a pop, the lights flickered and then we went outside and we could see smoke coming out of the drain.

"It was a bit worrying, we thought, should we even be here."

Lynn Brogden, manager of Card Factory, said: "I don't know what happened.

"Someone from the British Heart Foundation heard a bang and saw smoke coming out of the drain. 

"We are just staying in the shop until we are allowed to open again."