Guests staying at Scarborough Travelodge lined the streets this morning as they were forced to evacuate when fire alarms sounded at the newly converted hotel.

Large numbers of guests poured out of the former Hotel St. Nicholas onto the streets as staff ushered them out of the building – but guests appeared confused as to where to congregate, bringing traffic on St. Nicholas Cliff to a temporary standstill as crowds blocked the road.

The incident at the Scarborough hotel which happened at about 8.30 am on Thursday morning is thought have been a false alarm as guests where allowed back into the hotel around 30 minutes later.

Travelodge’s new multi-million pound Scarborough hotel was officially opened on 11 June 2009, creating 20 jobs following the £7.9 million renovation.