The manager of a Southampton hotel has praised the fire service for their speedy response after they were called out to a faulty fire detector.

In what turned out to be a false alarm, the fire service was called just before 7:25am on Friday, June 28, to reports of a fire at The Star Hotel on High Street, Southampton.

Residents and commuters in the area at the time said that four fire engines arrived outside the hotel with the fire service geared up and prepared to tackle a blaze - with people wondering what was going on.

Upon arrival, fire and rescue teams carried out a thorough investigation of the historic building and no fire was found.

The cause of the false alarm was soon uncovered: a faulty detector in a linen cupboard.

It appeared to have been set off by an aerosol, the fire service said.

No guests were evacuated during the drama.

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Gaie Sully, owner of the Star Hotel said: “Hampshire Fire were here incredibly quickly and did a fantastic job at making sure the hotel was safe.

“We have assured our guests this was a false alarm and the fire service were impressed that we had a robust action plan in place to deal with fire related incidents.

“Our engineer from Fire and Safety Testing has also attended the hotel and made sure that the detector has been reset and is fit for purpose.

“The company are based in Bitterne and were here within 15 minutes of the alarm setting off – they were as speedy and as brilliant as the fire service.”

A spokesperson for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue said: “Southampton firefighters were alerted to an alarm sounding and a smell of smoke at a hotel on the High Street in the city centre.

“Crews from St Mary’s, Redbridge and Hightown were called at 7.22am this morning.

“Upon investigation, firefighters found the alarm to have been caused by an aerosol in a cleaning cupboard.

“The stop message came in at 7.41am.”

Based in a historic building first built in the 18th Century, the hotel said it 'provides a traditional Victorian setting with classic décor'.