SHOCKED shoppers and nearby business owners had to be evacuated after smoke was seen “pouring out” of a beloved town centre café.

Firefighters were called to the Olive Tree Café, in Rosemary Road, Clacton, shortly after 10.30am today following reports of a fire inside the property.

Police officers also rushed to the scene before sealing off the area, meaning drivers had to find alternative routes through the town.

The blaze started in the basement of the café, which also runs under the neighbouring W Palace Photography Studio.

Gazette:

The two fire crews in attendance were able to extinguish the blaze by 11.30am and the cordon was lifted at about 12.15pm.

Zoe Tipple, who runs UnSealed, which is just metres away from the scene of the fire in The Grove, says her shop is now filled with the smell of smoke.

She said: “We could smell burning and then someone came round and told us we needed to evacuate, so we just shut the door and left in an orderly fashion.

“You cannot see anything from the outside but the Olive Tree Café had a fire in its basement and it impacted all of the flats and the surrounding shops.

“There was loads of smoke pouring out the front of the building and W Palace, which the firefighters had to break in to because it was not open.

“The fire did draw quite a crowd but it was very well handled. We just tried to keep out of the way before we were told we could go back in.”

The cause of the fire currently remains unknown.

A spokesman for the Essex County Fire and Rescue Service said:

“Firefighters were called to a fire in a cafe on Rosemary Road, Clacton at 10:38am. 

“On arrival, two crews reported the basement was heavily smoke logged. 

"Firefighters extinguished the fire by 11:27am. 

"An investigation is being carried out to determine the cause of the fire."