A Sainsbury's store was evacuated after staff heard a "loud bang" and reported a smell of burning.

Fire crews were called to the supermarket in Aylesford yesterday afternoon.

They carried out a search and later found debris from Storm Eunice on the roof of the building, which is believed to have been the cause of the loud noise.

Firefighters arrived at the Larkfield Sainsbury's, at Quarry Wood Industrial Estate, at 1.27pm.

A spokesman said: "Crews were taken to where staff had heard a loud bang and thought they had smelled burning,

"They did a thermal scan inside the shop and then searched the roof outside.

"They found debris on the roof. The loud bang could have been caused by something hitting the roof through storm damage."

Two witnesses told KentOnline that the store was evacuated after staff had been startled by the noise.

A stop time of 2.19pm was recorded.

A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: "We briefly evacuated our Larkfield supermarket yesterday as a precaution.

"Following a thorough inspection to ensure the safety of all customers and colleagues, we can confirm the store is open as usual."