Sainsbury's evacuated due to mysterious fire

Mysterious black smoke began billowing from Sainsbury’s roof this afternoon between 3 and 3.30pm, while innocent shoppers and staff meandered oblivious inside.

15 minutes after the smoke was first sighted, Sainsbury’s security began denying entry to customers, explaining that there was a fire on the roof and the store was being evacuated.

The black smoke in question

Within minutes of the evacuation, four fire engines screamed down the Portswood high street. When they arrived, however, the smoke was nowhere to be seen.  The firefighters seemed just as confused as the customers.

Bewildered shoppers were forced to wait outside the supermarket with no explanation given. The staff had disappeared.

Shoppers weathering the cold outside Portswood’s superstore

Student shoppers weren’t too happy about it. Samuel Mead, a third year Aeronautics and Astronautics student said:

I just wanted a Lucozade for my hangover.  My car’s stuck in the car park.

Will Jones, a third year Biomed student added:

It’s just banter.

Lucy Hewson, final year English and French student, was very miffed. She said:

I just went in to grab some chocolate brownie ingredients. I ended up having to trek all the way to Waitrose.

Fleeing faster than the customers themselves, one reader suspected it was a ploy by workers to get an extra fifteen minutes break

Customers were soon let back inside the store, with a sea of abandoned trolleys to wade through, and still no explanation.

In contradiction to their previous explanation, staff began to claim that there was “100% no fire”. What was that smoke then?

The store’s media office refused to comment.

This isn’t the first time Sainsbury’s has been evacuated in Portswood.  Only last September, the fire alarm went off when staff burnt a pizza in the back kitchen. 

Were you there? Were you forced to abandon your trolley? Tell us in the comments below!