The PSNI has confirmed a fire alert in Belfast city centre during Saturday afternoon was a false alarm.
A number of commercial premises in Castle Lane were evacuated for a period during the alert, with the public urged to avoid the area.
Emergency services attended the scene, but police declared the incident as “a false alarm” shortly before 3pm.
Castle Lane has now reopened.
The businesses were evacuated from buildings located just a short distance from Primark’s flagship Bank Buildings store, which went up in flames in August 2018, significantly impacting city centre trade for a number of years.
