A HOTEL was evacuated last night after cooking fumes from the kitchen activated a fire alarm.

Guests were escorted from the Holiday Inn at Rochester just after 7pm. Staff led guests to a corner of the car park while Medway firefighters checked out the building for any fires.

A spokesman for the fire and rescue service, said: "Staff at the hotel acted in the correct manner and got everyone out of the building quickly which meant swimmers were standing in the car park in their swimming costumes and towels. But staff handled the situation well."

A spokesman for the hotel said: "It was a false alarm due to some smoke from cooking in the kitchen which was not working properly. The hotel was evacuated as normal procedure."