A restaurant near Norwich which had to be evacuated following a fire in the kitchen has had to close temporarily.

About 15 members of the public were in the Town House on Yarmouth Road when a fire broke out in the kitchen of the pub and hotel shortly before 6.20pm on Monday.

Fire crews from Sprowston and Earlham attended the incident with firefighters using main and hose reel jets, thermal image camers and a dry powder extinguisher in the operation.

Alternative arrangements were made for those staying at the premises were made following the fire but a sign in the door yesterday states 'Sorry we're closed (due to electric fault)'.

A spokesman for Crown Carveries, on behalf of the Town House, said: 'There was a small fire at the Town House early on Monday evening.

'The team acted quickly to ensure all our guests were evacuated safely and no one was hurt. There has been some smoke damage to the building and therefore we've had to temporarily close.

'We will be investigating the incident and starting work on the repairs straight away. We hope the business will close for no longer than a week and we look forward to welcoming our guests back very soon.'

An investigation has been completed by Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service and concluded that the fire was accidental.