Don’t panic if you see smoke coming from Lancaster Town Hall tonight

Council staff are conducting a training exercise with their colleagues at Lancashire Fire and Rescue to help them better understand the building in the event of a genuine emergency.

The exercise is due to start at around 6pm and will see smoke machines being used to simulate a fire in the basement of the town hall.

At least three fire engines will be parked at the town hall for the duration of the exercise and it should look very dramatic, but it has all been planned in advance.

A council spokesman said: “We’re very pleased to be working with Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service to help them be better prepared to protect it should they ever need to. It’s also a great opportunity for us to put some of our emergency evacuation plans to the test in a realistic scenario.”