SMOKE billowing from a city supermarket forced customers to be evacuated and the store to close.

Tesco in St Peter's was forced to shut its doors and turn customers away after the fire broke out.

Fire crews were sent to the supermarket on St Peter's Drive where a fire had broken out in an electrical intake box.

Steve Winfield, store manager, was pleased to welcome back customers into the store after two hours.

He said: "We had smoke coming from a back room and the fire service came and made it safe.

"We're happy to be back open and trading again."

Shoppers formed a queue at the entrance to the store and the doors were back open again from 9.34am.

During the closure, staff were stationed at the entrance to the store from the roundabout where both the entrance and the exit to the car park were closed to the public.

Drivers approaching the roundabout were stopping by the blocked entrance to talk to staff, who said that the store and petrol station were both closed and a re-opening time had not yet been confirmed.

The only customers that were allowed into the store were those picking up shopping via click and collect, as it did not require them to enter the store or the petrol station.

Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service attended the scene.

READ MORE: Live updates as fire closes Tesco St Peter's

A spokesperson for Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue said: "We first received a call at approximately 7.57am today regarding reports of smoke and a smell of burning from the Tesco store in St Peter's.

"We deployed a crew from Worcester and a crew from Droitwich to attend the scene and discovered the smoke was coming from an electrical intake box.

"Crews first began moving away from the scene at approximately 8.50am."

As a result of the store being closed and drivers stopping to ask when the store and petrol station would be reopened, traffic build-up could be seen on the roundabout at the entrance to the store.

The car park officially reopened to the public just before 9.30am but the petrol station had to remain closed for a further 15 minutes due to final safety checks.