Mystery surrounds a Lowestoft town centre store alarm which has been ringing since Friday.

The security alarm at an empty store, on Milton Road East at the junction of London Road North, was triggered last week and continues to ring.

The store is a former Poundstretcher shop which has been empty for more than two years, but the identity of the present owner responsible for maintaining the building is not known.

A nearby store owner confirmed the alarm has been ringing over the weekend and continued throughout the day.

The reason behind the alarm being triggered is not yet clear, although Suffolk Police confirmed no incident had been reported to officers in the town.

William Belton, treasurer at North Lowestoft United Reformed Church, which is opposite the empty store, said the constant ringing had been an 'irritation' for passers-by over the weekend.

He said: 'It just goes to prove the effectiveness of these alarms.

'It has been ringing for days and the public feel like they cannot respond because what can they do?'

A number of residents live above stores on London Road North, as well as on Arnold Street, with properties directly behind the empty store.

The Poundstretcher store closed when the shop expanded and relocated along London Road North in October 2016, promising an additional 15 jobs at the bigger store in the former QD Stores building.

The store manager today confirmed they officially vacated the building in January earlier this year.

Cllr Peter Knight, Lowestoft Town Council's deputy mayor, said: 'It is private property and very much up to the owners of the building to maintain it.

'It has been going off for the last few days and I am sure the owners are aware of it and are trying to sort it out.'

Phil Aves, Lowestoft Rising change manager, said: 'It is hard to say how much of an impact this has had on London Road over the weekend.

'If you are in the town centre, it is probably quite annoying for residents and workers.'

Do you know who owns the building? Get in touch at reece.hanson@archant.co.uk.