The cause of a fire which engulfed a Chelmsford restaurant is still not known - but foul play is not suspected.

Hundreds of cinema-goers and shoppers had to be evacuated after the blaze swept through the eaterie, called The, in Kings Head Walk, Chelmsford, at about 6.30pm on Tuesday night.

The cause of the fire, which is not thought to be suspicious, is still unknown. At the height of the blaze more than 40 firefighters were called to deal with the blaze.

About 30 diners had to flee the site as the fire took hold of the building. None of the diners or restaurant staff were injured in the fire.

Firecrews moved swiftly to evacuate the neighbouring Meadows shopping centre and Odeon multiplex.

A female town centre security guard, who was believed to be helping at the scene, was taken to the town's Broomfield Hospital suffering from smoke inhalation.

The building was collapsing in on itself and fire crews had to fight the fire from the street.

Speaking yesterday, Steve Dennis, director of Luminar Leisure Limited, which owns the eaterie, said: "The staff and management are devastated as a result of this horrible fire. The venue was evacuated quickly and there were no injuries."

A spokesman for Odeon Cinemas said: "Obviously we will offer full refunds and re-accommodate people who didn't get to watch the film because of the evacuation."

An Essex Police spokesman said the fire was not being treated as suspicious.

"Luminar Leisure Limited is working with the fire service, its own fire consultants and loss adjusters to establish the cause of the fire."

Apologising to customers for the loss of the restaurant he pledged to rebuild the devastated building as soon as possible.

( Left and right) Two views of the fire which devastated the Chelmsford restaurant

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